Mend: The Story of the Cat that Broke the Bug's Heart
by FanPanda13
Summary: When a series of events makes Adrien believe that being Cat Noir only brings bad luck to him and the people he loves, he withdraws from the world, leaving Marinette staring at an empty seat in front of her in school and patrolling the streets of Paris alone as Ladybug at night. When a heart is broken, what does it take for it to mend? Ladynoir Adrientte Marichat Ladrien
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl, dying for Season 2 to begin. Enjoy my attempt to console myself while we wait.

* * *

Chapter 1 - Heartless

Adrien Agreste's Russian tutor thought she was hot.

No, that was not a typo.

Larisa — she preferred to go by her first name — thought she was seriously hot stuff.

He knew because she spent at least a third of every lesson looking at herself in a compact mirror that she apparently kept on her at all times. The mirror was palm-sized, and its cover was a tai chi pattern of green embellished on gold. Adrien wouldn't have liked Larisa even without her mirror. She acted too bored with life, and she reminded him of a grown up Chloé Bourgeois. But the mirror reminded him of…

Well.

It reminded him of someone else, who he didn't like to think about these days.

"Mr. Agreste, focus, please," his tutor said. She never called him by his first name. Also, she probably thought she had to act like a tutor every now and then to justify the insane amount of money his father was paying her for the hour she spent with him every night. What a waste. He was learning more from the online lessons she made him do as homework than from her.

"Mr. Agreste. Your translation. Read it out loud, please."

He looked down at the translation he was supposed to be working on. Adrien was already fluent in English, French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. It was only late September, but he was ahead in his history, science, literature and calculus lessons. He'd added a Russian class because his father insisted that he maintain a full course load, even if all his lessons were private. He'd been offered other options: psychology (he wasn't interested in dissecting the tangled ball of yarn his feelings amounted to these days), physics (he'd had quite enough first-hand experience with the laws of gravity), and accounting (he didn't want to think about what else he should be accountable for). Russian was safely unrelated to anything relevant in his life, except for the possibility that he and his father would be moving to St. Petersburg in a few months. It had been the obvious choice.

"Mr. Agreste!"

He began reading the translation out loud. Larisa made a noise that made her sound like a replica of Chloé Bourgeois trying to indicate her disgust over poor service at a restaurant. Adrien was more familiar with that sound than he wanted to be. He considered Chloé a friend — what else did you call someone you'd known most of your life? She wasn't a friend he particularly liked to spend time with, but she was consistently there. In fact, Chloé was the only friend he'd seen since the end of July. He hadn't wanted to see any of his friends over the summer. Even Nino wasn't getting more than a few text messages here and there. Chloé had a tendency to show up at the celebrity events Adrien's father, Gabriel Agreste, made him attend, though, so her presence in his life was unavoidable. He would be seeing her again tonight, at a charity banquet his father's brand, _Gabriel_ , was sponsoring.

Larisa made the disgusted sound again. Adrien looked up. He'd thought he'd been doing the translation well, and that he might even be hitting some of the accents right. But it wasn't about him. Larisa was looking at herself in the mirror again.

"This rain is destroying my hair," she muttered.

"How was the translation?" Adrien asked.

She looked from the mirror to him like she was confused. "What?"

"How did I do?" he asked. "With the translation you just asked me to read."

Her phone started chiming. "Looks like our time's up!" she said cheerfully, silencing the phone and then picking up her bag. It was a cheap, knock-off brand. "It's been an hour. Would you be a doll and show me to the powder room before I leave? I have to fix this mess."

"Three doors to your left down the hall," Adrien said dryly. "Same place it was yesterday when you went to call your boyfriend during the middle of our lesson."

She hung her bag over her shoulder and flashed him a smile. "Do the next four online lessons over the weekend, Mr. Agreste. I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah. Monday," Adrien said, and he stayed seated as Larisa exited the room.

* * *

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was out with her best friend Alya, eating pho at the Vietnamese place down the street from Alya's house. Marinette normally liked pho and she always liked this restaurant. Today the noodles in her pho tasted like salted rubber, and she was barely managing to hold her chopsticks.

"So then Nino said he thought it would be fun for us to hold-up the bank down the street from the school."

"Uh huh," Marinette said. "That's great."

"I know, right?" Alya said. "It's going to be the sexiest date ever. We're even planning matching burglar outfits. Think you'd be willing to help design them?"

"Sure," Marinette said sullenly. "Whatever you want."

Alya whipped Marinette's chopsticks out of her hand, forcing Marinette to look up. "Are you paying attention to anything I'm saying? You just promised to design the _burglar_ outfits for our _bank hold-up_ date."

There was a time when an accusation like that would have embarrassed Marinette. Now days, she didn't have the heart to feel embarrassed about such things. She could barely feel anything at all, to tell the truth, and honestly, that was an improvement over how she'd felt most of the summer. She shrugged.

Alya set down her chopsticks and groaned loudly. "Girl, you have got to get over this. So _what_ if Adrien doesn't want to come to school anymore? You have plenty of other friends, and there are plenty of fish in the sea. This is not the end of the world."

Marinette picked up her chopsticks again. Alya was right about Adrien. It had surprised her when he'd cut her off this summer, especially with how nice he'd been to her in June. But it hadn't been just her he'd cut off. He was hardly communicating with anyone from school. Even Nino was barely hearing from him, and they were supposed to be best friends. It was easy to understand why. Everyone who didn't live under a rock in Paris knew that Adrien and his father were still receiving death threats from an unknown source, and Adrien was a kind person. He didn't want to put any of his friends in any more jeopardy than he thought he already had, and she knew all too well that he had good reason to think that whoever was after him _would_ come after his friends if that's what it took. She got why he was distancing himself. She thought it was a little ridiculous, but it was understandable.

"I know," Alya said with a heavy sigh. "It breaks your heart that Adrien is so scared, and you're crushed that your crush didn't come back to school. But if you ask me, he's being cowardly about the whole thing. We all told him we weren't afraid to be his friend. You told him half a dozen times yourself! The sooner you get over him, the better."

"Mmm…yeah," Marinette said. "Probably." She didn't agree with Alya, actually. Adrien was sensitive, and it wasn't a bad thing to be vulnerable enough to feel fear. Marinette did wish he'd come back to school. He had to be lonely, she still thought they could be great friends, and in her mind, Adrien Agreste was still very crush-worthy. Except…she wasn't crushing on him anymore. Not really. Because as wonderful as Adrien was, he wasn't…

Well.

He wasn't the one breaking her heart.

Thunder crashed outside and Alya sighed. "I love a thunderstorm. It just makes me feel so good to know the world is being washed clean."

Marinette's head drooped. It was supposed to rain all night. Fun. Patrol was going to be splendid.

Alya grabbed her hand. "Oh, Marinette, honey, you have to learn how to smile again! It isn't going to hurt like this forever. He's just a boy. You're you! And you get to keep you for the rest of your life, no matter what. So it's all going to be okay, I swear!"

The skies looked dark outside.

"I think I need to get home," Marinette said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl, dying for Season 2 to begin. Enjoy my attempt to console myself while we wait.

* * *

Chapter 2: Heartbroken

Adrien was extremely uncomfortable. Chloé Bourgeois had practically jumped him at the door when she'd seen him walk into Le Grand Paris, the hotel she and her father lived in and the place where tonight's charity banquet was being held. She'd slipped her cold hand into his and said, "You look dashing, Adriekins. You're sitting with me, of course." Then she'd dragged him to a giant ballroom and through a traffic jam of guests to a table marked "1" at the very front. Now he was trying to get through the salad course while she chewed his ear off about things he didn't care to discuss.

"Are you sure you don't want to come back to school, Adriekins?" she was currently saying.

"No," he said flatly.

"But your seat is so _lonely_ without you in it," she drawled. "Every time I look across the aisle in class, all I can think about is how much I wish you were there."

He imagined what school would have been like for him if every time he looked across the aisle, Chloé's seat had been empty. Better, probably. Not that it mattered. He couldn't go back.

She clutched his arm. "Are you and your father still getting those scary and terrifying threats?" she asked, her voice just low enough to emphasize how dramatic this was, but still loud enough for half the table to hear.

That was especially a subject he didn't want to talk about. Gabriel Agreste was famous in the fashion world, but not for his compassion. There were a lot of people he could have rubbed the wrong way through the years with his stuffy demeanor, and this summer a disgruntled someone had made an appearance in their lives. Whoever it was had threatened Adrien to get to Gabriel, and the next thing Adrien knew he had two bodyguards that were constantly watching him. If he hadn't given up on Chat Noir by then, he'd have been seriously screwed. As it was, his bodyguards proved to be extremely effective at deterring any threat coming his way. So whoever it was went after Adrien's friends instead. And found Marinette, of all people. The reminder of it all made his stomach sour.

"I can't talk about it," he said shortly to Chloé, who nodded at him with over-exaggerated concern.

"I completely understand, Adrien." She petted his arm. "Poor baby. You must be so traumatized by everything. And you don't need school, anyway. You have Chloé to keep you updated on everyone."

She went on, and he went back to skillfully ignoring her while she talked at him. His main course had just arrived. It was a pasta dish. He went to work on it. Normally, he thought Le Grand Paris had pretty impressive catering abilities, but lately, nothing he ate tasted right. He chewed on a noodle. It felt like slippery rubber in his mouth.

"…and you should see Marinette. She's completely changed. She cut her hair _hideously_ short, and she's wearing these outfits that look like absolute bags on her. Although maybe that's just her old clothes. I swear she gets skinnier everyday, and she's still constantly late to class." Chloé flipped her hair back. "Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if we find out she's got some kind of awful disease."

Tonight's charity banquet was being held on behalf of a children's hospital. Some of the people at their table were young adults who had been very sick as kids and were here to give speeches about what the benefactors of the children's hospital had meant for their lives. Adrien tried not to groan out loud at Chloé's comment.

"I know it's just a dream, but I wish she would drop out and you would come back. My life would be so much better that way!"

Adrien set down his silverware and put his napkin on the table. He looked straight at Chloé for the first time all night. Her dress was designer, but it was cut way too low and it was an awful shade of gold. Her signature lipstick was even paler tonight, and it made her lips look plastic. She fluttered her eyebrows at him like she was trying to flirt.

He stood up. "Marinette is one of the best people I know," he said, and he only narrowly escaped adding "and you are one of the worst" before he walked away and headed to the men's room in an angry haze. He didn't feel his head start to clear until he was leaning against a sink, looking at himself in the mirror. His clothes would have been hanging off him, too, if his father hadn't required a "wardrobe refresh" after he'd noticed how much weight Adrien had lost. His father also grilled him about whether he might have an eating disorder ("a lot of male models do, Adrien"), and Adrien had not missed how closely his father's personal assistant, Nathalie, watched him when he ate these days. He did not have an eating disorder. He had a depressing life.

"Well isn't she a joy," a sarcastic voice said from his tuxedo pocket.

Adrien moaned. "Plagg, I told you I didn't want you sneaking into my pockets anymore."

Plagg, his very unhappy kwami, popped out of Adrien's pocket, jumped onto the sink and then hopped up to stand on a ledge below the mirror. "And I told you that you don't have a choice," Plagg retorted. "You're the chosen one, whether you and I like it or not. You're stuck with me." He made a rude noise. "And I'm stuck with you."

Adrien shut his eyes and hung his head, and then the noise of a crowd panicking in the ballroom made his eyes pop back open. He grabbed Plagg, stuck him back in his pocket, and stepped cautiously outside the men's room again, where he immediately had to flatten himself against the wall to avoid a stampede. A man wearing green-striped pants and a gaudy white jacket was following the crowd. He pointed a walking stick at guests as they ran. A victim passing Adrien got hit by a bolt of green light coming from the walking stick, and in an instant, the man's wallet had been yanked out of his pocket and was flying back to the obviously akumatized villain. The villain dumped the wallet's contents into a green money bag.

"I am the Fundraiser!" he bellowed. "You greedy fools! You keep your cash to yourself and look the other way when someone needs you. Cheap bastards! Most of you are only here because your company pitched in, and you wanted the free dinner. Now's your time to pay your dues!"

Adrien sucked in a breath and held it.

"You have to do something, Adrien!" Plagg said urgently from his pocket. "It's your responsibility! Quick! The men's room! You can transform there."

"No, Plagg! It's my responsibility to keep Paris safe," Adrien hissed back at Plagg. "And I'm _doing_ that by _not_ transforming!"

"But Adrien-" Plagg begged as Adrien shot into the crowd and followed the flow to the exits.

He was almost there when someone behind him yelled, "Look! It's Ladybug!"

Adrien couldn't help but turn to look with the rest of the crowd. Sure enough, Ladybug had just whipped in from what seemed like nowhere. The sight of her made his heart race and his stomach flip. He hadn't seen her in real life for months. He always tuned in when there was live coverage of her on the television. He could never help that either. As sure as he was that she didn't need him, he worried about her every second she fought alone. So he watched her like everyone else did, praying that she would be okay as a one-woman show. Now, seeing her in person, he was reminded strongly of why he was so crazy for her. She exuded confidence, and she looked amazing swinging that magic yo-yo around as she headed directly toward the latest villain and shouted, "Not so fast, Fundraiser!"

After that, watching her was like watching some kind of nostalgic film clip for Adrien. She was so incredibly fluid, effective and downright dangerous. He probably should have left, but he was spell-bound, and he wasn't alone. The stampede had stopped, and everyone was watching her in awe. The crowd cheered her on. It gasped collectively at close calls. It went crazy when she'd broken the Fundraiser's walking stick. Adrien was stuck in the middle of it, completely incapable of escaping. It was only after she captured the akuma and released it as a butterfly that he felt he might be able to walk again. The reporters that had been there to cover the dinner called for her, and he started heading toward the exit, taking one more look back first…

And that was when he realized that all was not entirely well with Ladybug, even if she had won another fight. The little spring that was supposed to be there in her step wasn't there as she headed toward the reporters. Her face was tight in a way he didn't remember it looking. Her magic suit clung perfectly to her body, but it seemed like there were fewer curves to cling to than there had been the last time he'd seen her. She reached the reporters, who instantly began hitting her with a slew of questions that made him want to yell out: "Give her a break! She just saved your asses again!"

"Is there anything you'd like to say, Ladybug? Anyone you'd like to send a message to?" one of the reporters asked her coyly, and that question made Adrien want to smack him.

Ladybug didn't smile back. "Yes," she said seriously, and she looked directly into the camera. "To Chat Noir."

The crowd hushed and the reporter practically stood on his toes. Ladybug generally refused to answer questions about Chat Noir. This was exactly what they wanted to hear.

"And what do you want to say, Ladybug?" the reporter urged. "It's been over a hundred days since we last heard from your feline partner, hasn't it? A rather long absence."

Ladybug sighed. "Not that I'm counting, but it's only been 96 days since I last heard from him." She looked into the camera again. "And Chat Noir…wherever you are, whatever you're doing…what I want to say is: Paris needs you." She paused, grimaced and went on. " _I_ need you. Please come back."

The reporter opened his mouth.

"No questions," Ladybug snapped, and then she was off in the wink of an eye, and Adrien felt so dizzily ill that he thought he might fall.

Plagg spoke up from Adrien's jacket. "You should listen to her." He tugged on Adrien's lapel. "Paris does need you."

"Paris needs Ladybug," Adrien said weakly. "Not me."

"But Adrien," Plagg pleaded, "Ladybug needs you."

He tucked Plagg back into his jacket and decided he needed fresh air. The charity dinner could conclude without him.

"She doesn't know what she needs."

He walked out of the hotel and into the rain.

* * *

Marinette changed back to her civilian self behind the hotel and slumped there with her shoulders down. There was a chill in the air with the rain, and it felt like it was soaking deep into her bones. Tikki crept out from the purse she always kept her kwami in at her side. "Marinette?" she asked softly. "Are you okay?"

Marinette wiped tears that were falling from her eyes. They'd started coming down before she'd even gotten out of the crowd. Thank God for superhero masks. She'd almost broken down in front of the reporters. It had been 107 days since she'd last seen Chat Noir, and 96 days since the note he'd left for her saying she would never see him again. The Fundraiser was the 25th villain she'd had to fight on her own. This was the first time she'd tried to reach out to Cat through the media. She was not okay.

"Are you sure he's alive, Tikki?" she asked.

"I'm sure," Tikki answered. "Ladybug and Chat Noir can't exist without each other. If one dies, the other's powers gradually decrease, and then Plagg and I return to our master, and we must wait until a new Ladybug and Chat Noir are found."

"I feel tired," Marinette said. "Maybe my powers are dying."

"You feel tired because you've had to fight alone. That doesn't mean your powers are going anywhere," Tikki insisted. "He's out there."

"Then why won't he help me anymore?"

"Be patient, Marinette," Tikki said. "Your Chat Noir was chosen, just like you, and your last battle together was difficult."

"But he wasn't the one who got hurt," Marinette said.

"Not every hurt is physical," Tikki said. "He may take longer to heal than you."

"I just want him back, Tikki," Marinette said.

She walked away from the hotel and into the rain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl.

* * *

Chapter 3 - The Heartsick

 _"Ladybug, don't you think it's time for us each to find out who we've been working with? I swear I won't tell anyone," Chat Noir said. They'd had another close call, this time thanks to a trio of girls calling themselves The Fantastic Fans. Two of the girls had it bad for Chat Noir, and the one hung up on Ladybug was downright insane. It had taken Chat and Ladybug forever to break the akumas out of the girls' cell phones, and then Ladybug insisted on staying for selfies with the crazed fans. Chat liked his ego stroked as much as the next Chat Noir, but thanks to his alter ego, he'd built up a resistance to overly-enthusiastic fans over the years. Ladybug didn't have the ego problem or the resistance._

 _It took too long. By the time the fans were gone, Chat and Ladybug were both out of time. They'd barely made it down a dark alley and into the shadows before Chat felt the magic begin to fade. "Turn around! Quick!" Ladybug had cried, and they spun in opposite directions. But back-to-back with the girl under Ladybug's mask, Adrien's itch to know who she was was even stronger than normal._

 _So he asked — again — for a reveal._

 _"No," she said firmly, then she started to leave. Adrien sensed the motion. Before he could think about what he was doing, he grabbed her hand behind his back. She gasped. He hung on tight, savoring the feel of her hand, soft in his and a perfect fit. Made for him. He was sure of it. He listened to her breath, and imagined her heart was beating as fast as his. They'd worked together as partners for three years now, and he knew it wasn't in his imagination that things were closer between them now than ever. Maybe in the beginning it had only been him, but recently there had been moments. She'd felt stronger things. He'd seen the mild flush on her cheeks when their battles brought their bodies intimately together. He'd recognized the longing in her eyes when they bid each other farewell until the next call to fight._

 _It wasn't just him, and he couldn't live this way forever, loving the girl under the mask and never being able to do anything about it. He ached to share his whole self with her._

 _"Please, Ladybug," he whispered. "All we have to do is turn around. Please. Trust me. I would die before I'd hurt you."_

 _"Chat," she whispered back. "No one…no one can ever know."_

 _And she'd slipped her hand out of his like sand running through his fingers._

* * *

Marinette was sick. Maybe her immune system had already been down, but walking home in the rain hadn't done her any favors. She'd woken up Saturday to a case of the sniffles, and by Sunday it was a full-blown-runny-nose-sore-throat-chest-cough-ache-all-over cold. She stayed home from school Monday and her dad brought chicken noodle soup to her room.

"Think you can get down some of super dad's soup?" he asked.

"Think I'm missing an important chem lesson and a double-hour of graphic design," she moaned. "I don't have time for this. I already miss enough classes."

Her father nodded wisely. "Ahh…your, uh, extracurricular activities are getting in the way again?"

Years of notes home from school about how often Marinette was tardy or missing from class had never been enough reason to tell her parents her secret identity. But when she'd ended up in the hospital after being slashed by a villain outside the Paris Stock Market on a school day in early June, she had some explaining to do. She'd done it with Tikki's help and approval. Her parents had been amazingly understanding, and there was now an everlasting supply of cookies on Marinette's desk all the time.

Marinette was still sort of surprised as to how receptive Tikki had been to her finally telling her parents. Tikki had been adamant early on that no one must ever know. Marinette had assumed something terrible would happen if her identity was ever reveals. When she'd told Tikki from her hospital bed that she wished she could tell her parents, she hadn't expected Tikki's response.

"You've been doing this for long enough now to know who you can and can't trust," Tikki had said. "If you want to tell your parents, I think you should. And I'm sorry Marinette. I should have let you know earlier you could. Maybe if I had, none of this would have happened. We have to be especially careful in the beginning with any new Ladybug or Chat Noir because you start so young. It's better for you to think you can't tell anyone, so you don't make an exception for the wrong person. But really…it's up to you who you tell."

"So I could have told Chat who I was that night," she'd said.

Tikki had looked sadly at her. "Yes. You could have."

But Marinette didn't blame Tikki for what had happened after. Even if she'd known she could have told Chat, Marinette didn't think she would have. She hadn't been ready for that. Things with Chat Noir had been strange for Marinette in the months leading up to that last fight. She'd harbored a crush for Adrien Agreste from when she was fifteen, and Adrien could still make her stutter just by looking at her a particular way. Somewhere over the last few years, Chat Noir had become something else to Marinette, though. He was still a little cocky, but he was steadily there for her in a fight. His jokes were still terrible, but she enjoyed their more idle conversations. He still followed her lead with the akumatized villains, but he was a force to be reckoned with on his own. He'd dropped some of the silly ways he'd tried to romance her early on, but the less he flirted, the more fiercely he protected her. Sometimes it scared Marinette. He'd thrown himself in front of her too many times over the years. If he'd ever been seriously hurt that way, she would have been crushed.

It was confusing. For years it had been Adrien who made her incapable of thinking. The first time Chat Noir did it, she was stunned. They'd just fought their way through a swarm of humans transformed into killer wasps with stinger-shooting-capabilities. He pole vaulted them up into the air so they could snag the queen wasp's akuma. Marinette broke it in the air while he held her, and when they were ground-level again, he didn't release her. He turned into her instead, wrapping both arms tighter around her and nuzzling his nose to her neck with a shudder. "I hate wasps," he'd said, and she laughed a little and indulged him for a moment with her arms around his neck, noticing that she had to stand on her toes to stay with him on the ground like this. Then as he straightened up, his hands slid forward from around her back, coming to rest on her waist, and there was something about the way his thumbs stroked lightly over her ribcage that made it difficult for her to breathe when he added: "You, however, were amazing as always."

And Marinette's whole self just…froze.

He licked his lips and smiled playfully. "Oh…cat got your tongue, bug?" he'd said in a voice that was low and teasing and sexy. He lifted one of his hands to swipe her bangs back, leaned in and kissed her forehead. If his ring hadn't beeped right after that, she wasn't sure what would have happened.

That hadn't been the only time, either, and Marinette had the feeling that he knew there'd been a change. It seemed as though they "pounded" it far less frequently following a fight, as Chat ended more and more of their goodbyes with hugs and innocuous kisses. Marinette started feeling butterflies in her stomach whenever a new villain appeared, because she knew that meant she was going to get to see Chat. Meanwhile, Adrien became easier to talk to at school, and her Adrien dreams were weirdly mixed up. She'd had her fair share of maybe-sort-of-somewhat-naughty dreams about Adrien since she'd fallen in crush with him. Now when she had those dreams, Adrien morphed into Chat Noir whenever things got steamy. The night after one of Marinette's particularly vivid dreams, she and Chat had to fight a villain who trapped them in a very tight space together for what felt like a long time. Her dream had involved similar up-close-and-personal-togetherness, and in real life she blushed like a maniac when she found herself comparing real-Chat's body against hers to dream-Chat's. Real-Chat was warmer, broader and his chest moved up and down against hers while he breathed. Real-Chat also smirked and said, "You okay, L.B.?" like he knew what was going through her head.

So that last night…when they'd both transformed and he'd asked her to let them see each other…she was tempted to say yes. So very very very tempted, despite Tikki's early warnings. Truthfully, if Adrien hadn't popped into her head, maybe she would have said yes. But Adrien had appeared, just at the moment Chat's hand caught hers. Maybe it was because the feeling of a human hand on hers reminded her that there was a boy behind Chat's mask, too. A boy who wasn't Adrien. If she turned around to see who Chat really was, she would also be turning away from Adrien. Marinette barely understood her feelings for Chat, and even if her feelings for Adrien were unrequited, she wasn't sure she was ready to give up on that.

If only she'd known her own heart better.

"Marinette? Honey?"

"Marinette?"

Marinette blinked. Tikki had flitted over and was sitting on the tray Marinette's bowl of chicken noodle soup was sitting on. Her dad was sitting on the end of her bed, and they were both looking very concerned. She was reminded strongly of how it had felt to be in the hospital back in June.

"Sorry," she said. "I was just…thinking, I guess."

"You're over-worked," her dad said. He frowned. "If I knew where that Chat Noir was, I'd give him a real talking to. He has no business leaving you alone like this to take care of all of Paris."

Normally, Marinette's father was a jolly baker. It was weird to see him looking like he wanted to squash in someone's face.

"Have you been watching the news?" she asked.

His face fell. "You mean have I been watching to see if your delinquent partner has responded to the request you made for him to return?" He shook his head. "No. He hasn't made any public appearances."

Tikki hopped to the rim of the soup bowl. "Don't worry, Marinette, he'll come back."

"But he hasn't come back in months," Marinette's father said to Tikki. "At what point can she request a change in partners?"

Tikki's mouth opened wide. "Mr. Dupain! Marinette cannot request a change!" she cried. "There is no such thing. Ladybug works with Chat Noir, and there's only one Chat Noir for every Ladybug. That's how it's always been. Since ancient times!"

Marinette's father frowned again. "I see." He sat still for a minute like he was thinking, then reached to pat Marinette's shoulder. "Well, don't worry. That soup has special healing properties. You'll be back up and running in no time. Stupid Chat Noir or not."

"Thanks Dad," Marinette said, and she watched him climb back down the stairs.

Tikki looked after him. "This is all my fault," she said nervously.

Marinette sighed. They'd had this conversation before. "It wasn't your fault, Tikki," she said. "I was the one who didn't have my feelings about Chat Noir straight. I was the one still thinking I was in love with Adrien. It's not your fault that I messed it up with both of them."

"Marinette…"

"It's not, Tikki," she assured the little kwami. "If anyone is to blame, it's me. I'm the reason Adrien's too afraid to come to school anymore, and I'm the reason Chat Noir thinks he can't be my partner anymore too."

Tikki sighed. "That's not right, Marinette. But…no matter who's to blame…I'm sorry for what's happened."

Marinette smiled sadly. "Me too, Tikki."

* * *

 **Adrien: [I need a favor.]**

Nino: [Adrien? Hey man! Long time, no talk. What's going on?]

 **[It's embarrassing. The favor.]**

[Uhh…guess you better get it over with then?]

 **[Right.]**

 **[It's about Marinette.]**

[Man, why do you think it's embarrassing to ask about Marinette? She's pretty. She's popular. I could so easily hook you up with her.]

 **[I don't want you to hook me up with her. Can you just tell me how she is?]**

[B.S. Of course you want me to hook you up with her. You have a thing for her. And she's a 10, okay? That's how she is.]

 **[That is not what I meant.]**

[So u think 8.5 or something?]

 **[No! She's def a 10! But I do not have a thing for Marinette.]**

[Then why are you stalking her through her best friend's bf?]

Adrien threw down his cell phone. He'd had a terrible weekend that involved his father coming home for the first time in weeks. They'd had a short, silent breakfast together Saturday morning. Then his father had shut himself in his office, while Adrien faced a ride in a black-windowed van to an abandoned warehouse where a dozen security guards surrounded the building while Adrien did a miserable photo shoot with a snooty photographer. He hadn't seen his father at all Sunday morning, but they'd had an explosive, angry dinner Sunday night, during which Adrien yelled about how much he hated those photo shoots and his father told him they needed to talk about St. Petersburg. It was now Monday, but all Adrien's lessons had dragged today, and he hated Larisa even more than he'd hated her Friday.

He picked his cell phone back up. Nino had already left two new texts.

[I'm kidding man. I'm sorry. It's good to hear from you, no matter what it's about.]

[Alya thinks Marinette is kind of down. She wasn't in school today, though, so I don't know how she is.]

Adrien dropped his cell phone again. She wasn't in school again? What the hell? He paced back and forth across his room. Why wasn't she in school? What was wrong that she was down and was missing school? Adrien thought Marinette was one of the coolest girls he'd ever met. She wasn't just pretty and popular. She made the room light up when she walked in. He hadn't thought she'd liked him much initially, but last year she's sort of started opening up to him. He'd enjoyed every second. School was even better when he could look forward to spending time with her. It was awful awful luck that _she'd_ been the one who'd gotten hurt thanks to _his_ idiocy as Chat Noir back in June, and the guilt of that was almost as bad as the guilt he felt over nearly hurting Ladybug herself. But Adrien had visited Marinette while she was in the hospital, and that quiet time had been like balm for his soul. Of course it was platonic, but Marinette made Adrien feel like maybe life wouldn't be so bad as a civilian. Maybe if he had to give up being Chat Noir, there were other things in his life that would eventually fill the holes in his heart.

He should have known better. His was the personification of bad luck. It completely, totally sucked that he'd had to cut Marinette off a few months ago, along with the rest of his friends. He'd missed her as much as he'd missed Nino this summer. And the thought that something might have happened to her…

It wasn't something he could tolerate. Not with everything else that he was dealing with right now. He fingered his miraculous. He hadn't dared take it off. The last thing he wanted was for it to get into the wrong hands. And he hadn't transformed in a long long time…

But something was wrong with Marinette.

"Plagg?" Adrien said hesitantly, and his grouchy kwami yawned and got up from where he'd been lounging on Adrien's foosball table.

"This better be something important," Plagg said. "I was having an awesome dream."

"It…it is…" Adrien said.

"Well what do you want?" Plagg asked impatiently, and when Adrien hesitated again, a grin began to spread on Plagg's face.

Adrien flinched. He shouldn't transform. He shouldn't risk being seen that way. But Chat Noir was stealthy, and Adrien needed to see Marinette. So….

"Plagg," he said softly as his kwami smirked up at him. "Claws out."

[Adrien?]

[Adrien?]

[Dude, you have got to stop doing this.]

[Is this about Marinette? Alya took her homework to her earlier. It's just a cold.]

[Adrien?]

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thanks to those of you who are following the story, making it a favorite and leaving reviews. I just love this pair, and I so want to see them happy. But not without a little angst, you know? Hope you're enjoying it. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl.

* * *

Chapter 4 - Good News

She was asleep, and he was a creep.

That is all Adrien could think as he sneaked onto Marinette Dupain-Cheng's balcony as Chat Noir that Monday night and stared down at her from the window hatch leading into her room. Her bed was almost directly below, and all the lights were off, but thanks to his superior feline vision, he could still see her pretty well. She was on her back with one arm over her head and the other resting over her duvet. There was a box of tissues next to her in bed, along with a big bag of cough drops. Her mouth was hanging open a bit, she was in pajamas, and her hair was messy.

She was really really cute like that.

Also, she was clearly not in any major trouble. Just a little under the weather.

He moved away from the window and perched on the balcony ledge. He was such an idiot. What had made him think it would be a good idea to go running off into the night like this? Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Poor Marinette had gone through enough thanks to Chat Noir and Adrien both. And what had he planned to do if he found out there was something wrong? How could he have helped? Was he going to appear to her? As Chat Noir? The creepy tomcat that showed up in the middle of the night to watch young women sleep?

Ugh.

This had been a terrible idea. He turned tail to head back home. He had no business with Marinette. He needed to leave her alone.

* * *

 _"Adrien, I told you, I'm not answering any more questions about your mother."_

 _He'd missed his mother more than he had in years the week after that fight with The Fantastic Fans. Adrien wasn't sure why that was. Maybe he was just tired of the people he loved not being accessible to him. He loved Ladybug, but he couldn't get to the girl under the mask. He loved his mother, but he didn't know how to find her. He even loved his father, and talk about inaccessible…_

 _It had been a mistake to ask Gabriel Agreste anything about Adelina Agreste, though. Of course it had. Adrien should have known better. That subject had been closed off for years. There had only been one time, two years ago, after Adrien had taken and then lost a book from his father's secret safe, that a door had opened on the whole matter. Adrien's father had been furious about the missing book, and in a weird twist he'd accused Chat Noir and Ladybug — publicly — of breaking into his home and stealing a treasured family heirloom. One of the worst things Adrien had ever done was lie on camera as Chat Noir when a reporter interviewing him and Ladybug asked about Gabriel Agreste's accusations._

 _"We pledged to save Paris, not steal from it," he'd said. "We didn't take Mr. Agreste's book. We are not thieves."_

 _But he kind of was, and Adrien had wanted desperately to return the book. He'd agonized over that for weeks before the book showed up again out of nowhere on his bed one day. He slipped it into the safe immediately, and when he knew his dad had found the missing family heirloom, he took the only opportunity he thought he'd ever have to ask what it was._

 _His father had laughed. "It's an ancient storybook. Very well preserved, but it isn't valuable to me because of its market worth. I've never even had it appraised. It just…belonged to your mother."_

 _Adrien had looked through the book himself before he'd returned it to his dad's safe, and he knew it was not just a storybook. It was a book about superheroes that held miraculouses, just like his. Just like Ladybug's. If it had been his mother's, what did that mean?_

 _He asked his father if they could look at it together, and his father showed him the book, along with a brooch his mother had liked, and a few things he'd found in her office after she'd disappeared. A map of Tibet. Some information about a hotel that looked cool. "She was adventurous," his father had said. "This was the next trip she was planning. She wanted us to go as a family."_

 _"Then we should go," Adrien had said. "We should go to this hotel. We should see why she wanted to take that trip. Maybe it has something to do with her disappearance. Maybe-"_

 _His father had blown up at that, though. "No!" he'd shouted. "I've already searched the hotel. I've followed that whole trail. She isn't in Tibet, Adrien. It was just a dream left unfulfilled. It's too dangerous to go chasing a fantasy. I won't put your life or mine at risk for it."_

 _"Father-" Adrien protested at the time, but his father had taken his mother's things back and the conversation was simply over. For good._

 _So Adrien truly truly should have known better than to bring up the subject of his mother's whereabouts again. He shouldn't have done it. Even if he was depressed about Ladybug and how he might never know who was behind the mask. And he should have expected his father to shut down his questions about his mother immediately, but he hadn't expected that it would still sting the same way it always had when it happened. Or that it might hurt even worse this time._

 _"Fine," he snarled back to his father. "Don't answer any questions, and don't bother talking to me about her. Don't bother talking to me at all." Then he'd stormed up to his room, and he was alone, and he did the things he usually did when he was so, incredibly lonely and sad. He showered, letting the water run down his neck like maybe it could wash away the pain. He played a violent video game, like maybe smashing a robot at level four could make him feel better about things he couldn't control. He lay flat on his bed with his head in his arms and did not cry. He was seventeen. He was too old to cry._

 _Or at least that's the lie he told himself._

 _It never occurred to Adrien how perfectly he was primed to become Hawk Mouth's next victim. The black akuma came in stealthily, whispering things in his head that might already have been there._

 _"Alone and in the dark…those you trust and love don't share their secrets with you…but you need answers, don't you?…you need truth, don't you?…you are the Truth Seeker."_

 _Adrien didn't remember anything between those words and the moment when he'd woken up with Ladybug pinned to the pavement below him, her wrists pressed down hard above her head, his knees gripping her hips to the point that he knew she must be in pain._

 _"Chat?" she'd asked, and he'd released her immediately, shocked at what he was doing. Then her miraculous earrings had beeped. "That's my last warning," she said. "I'll be back as soon as I can to explain everything. But watch out. There might be another akumatized villain on the loose. Someone called The Ripper."_

 _"Another akumatized villain?" he'd choked out as she dashed away from him, and he began to realize what had happened. He'd become an akumatized villain himself. He'd woken up trying to hurt her because he_ had _been trying to hurt her. He'd been The Truth Seeker. Oh God. What had he tried to get her to say?_

 _He'd promised she could trust him with her secrets._

 _He'd promised he would never, ever hurt her._

 _Oh God._

 _He was vomiting all over the pavement when The Ripper found him. And of all people to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, Marinette Dupain-Cheng happened to be the one to come to his rescue._

 _"No!" he heard his sweet classmate scream as a shadow overtook him._

 _He turned just in time to watch in horror as Marinette flung herself in front of Chat Noir to stop a man with hands shaped like claws from taking a cheap shot at him while he was down._

 _The Ripper got her instead. Slashed clear across her side in one terrible stroke. She dropped down right in front of Chat Noir like she could hardly even believe it had happened. He scrambled to help her, but she was hurt a lot worse than he knew how to fix._

 _"The Ripper," she moaned as her face paled and she held her hand to her side. "Don't let him hurt...anyone else."_

 _And the sight of blood soaking through her clothes made Chat Noir see red in more than one way. He attacked The Ripper like the murderous beast he was, with all the anger and horror and destruction built up in him. He was a savage attacking another savage, and he wanted nothing but revenge on the man who had hurt the innocent girl lying on the pavement between puddles of blood and vomit. He probably would have killed The Ripper if he hadn't heard Marinette's weak cry at the last moment, saving him again with a single "no."_

 _"He's an akumatized human," she'd reminded him in a whisper, making him realize, also, that he didn't even have his priorities straight. Why was he worried about killing The Ripper when his main goal should have been getting Marinette to safety? He placed a final blow to The Ripper's kneecap with his stick. The Ripper went down, crying out in pain, and Chat Noir picked up Marinette._

 _"Thank you," she said, leaning against his chest and closing her eyes like she was giving up. "For not killing him."_

 _"Marinette," he said hoarsely. "No."_

* * *

Alya Césaire had just gotten the best news ever that didn't belong to her, and she was sure Marinette was going to kill her for what she'd done to get it.

"Worth it," she gasped as she arrived at school the next morning in a pant. Marinette better be here today. If she wasn't back, Alya was going to march straight over to that girl's house to give her the news. This was so exciting. This was the best thing that could _ever_ have happened to Marinette. If only she would forgive Alya for doing it.

Luckily, Marinette was in her seat already, staring down at Adrien's empty seat like she usually did when she managed to get to class on time. Alya slid onto the bench next to Marinette and immediately took Marinette's hands.

"You have to promise me you'll still love me after I tell you what I did," Alya said.

Marinette tilted her head at Alya, then had to remove her hands quickly from Alya's to manage an enormous sneeze.

"What is it?" Marinette asked as she wiped her nose with a tissue in the aftermath.

Alya handed her a second tissue from the box Marinette had sitting in front of her on their desk. "Promise first. Promise me you'll love me even after you find out what I did, because it was totally totally worth it, but girl, you would never have approved."

Marinette took the second tissue. "I'm in misery," she said. "In all kinds of ways. Nothing you did could possibly make me feel worse. And you're my best friend. Of course I'll love you no matter what."

Alya nearly shrieked from her excitement. She opened her mouth to give Marinette the news, but was interrupted again, this time by Nino's hands on her shoulders and a friendly peck on her cheek.

"Good morning, my ferocious girlfriend," Nino said.

Alya flicked him off. "Nino! I'm busy giving totally exciting world-changing news to Marinette."

Nino slid onto the bench next to Alya, pushing her closer to a germ-filled Marinette. "That's too bad. Because I have totally exciting world-changing news for Marinette, too."

"You do?" Marinette asked. Then she sneezed again and said stuffily, "what is it?"

"Nuh-uh," Alya said to her dear-but-currently-very-annoying boyfriend. "My news first."

"I'm pretty sure she's gonna want to hear mine first," Nino said confidently.

"No way," Alya argued. "Mine trumps anything you have to say."

"Let her decide then," Nino said, waving his hand casually like he was sure he was going to win this. He leaned around Alya to look at Marinette. "Do you want to hear first from the girl who spends all her free time writing blogs about Ladybug or from the guy who is best friends with Adrien Agreste, elusive supermodel?"

A tiny spark of hope flashed in Marinette's eyes.

"That wasn't even fair," Alya complained.

Nino laughed.

"What's your news, Nino?" Marinette asked.

"Only that Adrien himself texted me last night," he said coyly. "Because he wanted to ask how _you_ were doing."

Marinette smiled like she hadn't even meant to. "That's nice," she said.

"Nice?" Nino said incredulously. "That is _amazing_. It's not like he's asking how anyone else is doing!"

Marinette sniffed and wiped her nose again. "Sorry, Nino. It's hard for me to show my enthusiasm right now."

"And I still think my news is better," Alya said.

"Well what is it?" Marinette asked.

"Okay…so do you remember that super competitive fashion design mentoring program that only the seniors can apply to?" Alya asked.

"Yeah," Marinette said. "Of course. The _Gabriel_ program. I didn't apply."

"You did, actually," Alya said. "I applied for you." She grabbed Marinette's hands again. "And you got it!"

Marinette didn't smile at all. "I did?" she asked.

"Yes!" Alya squealed. "You're going to be working for Gabriel - _the_ Gabriel Agreste, not just his fashion company - three afternoons a week for the rest of the school year! Isn't that amazing!?"

"Wow, congratulations, Marinette," Nino said. "That's a really prestigious program."

"Uh, you think?" Alya said. "Gabriel Agreste only takes one senior every year, and sometimes no one gets it because he doesn't think any of the applicants are good enough." She elbowed Marinette. "But he thinks _Marinette_ is good enough."

"Thanks," Marinette said, finally smiling now, though a little more tightly than Alya had hoped, given the circumstances. "That's...great."

"Aren't you excited?" Alya asked.

"Sure," Marinette said. She sneezed again. "Like I said…it's just hard for me to show enthusiasm right now. Thanks so much, Alya. I'm…really excited."

Alya hugged her sick bestie. "I knew you would be!"

* * *

"What am I going to do, Tikki?" Marinette asked her kwami when she was alone in her room later that night. "I don't have time for the _Gabriel_ program. There's no way I can do it when I'm also taking care of all my superhero duties alone. What will I do if something comes up while I'm with Mr. Agreste?"

"You'll find a way, Marinette," Tikki assured her. "It's a great opportunity. And Mr. Agreste has always been one of your fashion icons. This is important for your future."

"Do you think Adrien had anything to do with me getting the spot?" she asked forlornly. "I hope not. But why was he asking about me otherwise?"

"Maybe he misses you," Tikki said reasonably. "It might not be as easy for him to be isolated from all his friends now that everyone is back in school."

"It's just…strange," Marinette said.

"Marinette, I think we have stranger things to worry about. I've been meaning to tell you something today myself."

"You have news, too?"

Tikki blushed. "I don't know if it's good news or not."

"Just tell me," Marinette said. "And we'll decide together. What is it?"

"I think someone was here last night," Tikki said.

Marinette's breath caught. "You think someone was here? In my room?"

"Above your room," Tikki squeaked. "And…I think it was Chat Noir."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Can I just say how much I love this fandom? I adore a group that loves its heroes so very very much, and it just cracks me up how many of you want Chat Noir/Adrien punished for putting Ladybug/Marinette through so much hell! Keep in mind that our dear kitty is going through a lot of hell himself. Though perhaps the cat does need to be taught a lesson via the way of kisses, hmm?


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl.

* * *

Chapter 5 - Bad News

 _Marinette felt like she'd betrayed Chat Noir. It was odd. It wasn't like that night they'd fought The Fantastic Fans had been the first time she'd refused to share her secret identity with him. He'd asked several times. He'd always been so sure they could trust each other. She'd always been so_ unsure _as to whether they_ should _trust each other._

 _So she'd said "no" before. But somehow, this "no" felt worse._

 _She carried the guilt of her decision for several days before she was able to talk herself into believing it was going to be fine. It wasn't that big of a deal that she hadn't let him know who she was. It wasn't that much of a betrayal._

 _She knew she was wrong when she saw the news alert on the television._

 _Gabriel Agreste had been assaulted in his own home by Chat Noir, and Adrien Agreste was missing._

 _"He's a lunatic and a fraud," Mr. Agreste said to the news reporter on the scene with the police. "I've always known it. Ladybug may be a friend to Paris, but Chat Noir is a curse. He must be stopped."_

 _"What did he want from you, Mr. Agreste?" the reporter asked._

 _Gabriel Agreste shivered. "I don't know. He kept asking for 'the truth,' and now I have a black eye and my son is missing! I'm telling you, that man is a villain, not a hero."_

 _Marinette turned the television off right then. "He is a hero," she said through gritted teeth. "Spots on, Tikki! I have to find my partner."_

* * *

It was Friday night, and Adrien was thinking about Marinette again. It was Larisa's fault. She'd reminded him of Chloé during their Russian lesson, and that had prompted him to call Chloé and ask how things were going. It was a weak moment on Adrien's part, and devious. He didn't care how Chloé was at all, but he knew what kind of person she was. Almost for sure, she'd take an opportunity to talk as a chance to pump herself up and put someone else down at the same time. He was correct. They hadn't talked for more than five minutes before Chloé started in on Marinette.

"And you won't believe it, Adrien. I know she's your friend and all, but Marinette Dupain-Cheng was sick all week in school. I was terrified I was going to catch what she had. I had to wear a mask to deal with it. Gross!"

"Sounds like Marinette's having a rough year," Adrien said, thinking, inexplicably, of how he could have babied her if he had been at school. He'd have encouraged her to stay home most of the week for sure. He'd have brought her homework to her. Well, probably Alya would have wanted to do that, but Adrien thought Alya might have let him take over a few of the days if he asked nicely. Maybe he could have convinced her parents to let him stay a while and help her catch up with her lessons while he was there…

"I'll say," Chloé said. "She's _def_ hiding something. Do you know she's the person who got the _Gabriel_ mentorship? There's no way she's that talented. She must have cheated. I bet her parents are in the mafia. Your dad has way better taste than that."

Adrien was not aware that Marinette had gotten the mentorship, but there was no way she'd cheated to get it. His dad did have great taste when it came to fashion, and Marinette was extremely talented. Adrien had seen a lot of her work over the years. She could do amazing stuff with a sewing machine. Anyway, her dream was a career in fashion design. The _Gabriel_ program was perfect for her.

Just…how was she going to add that to her schedule if something else in her life was already stressing her out enough that a little cold would hit her for an entire week?

"Adrien? Did you hear what I just said?"

"Uh…" He had no idea what Chloé had just said. He thought up a quick lie. "Sorry Chloé, but my dad just got home. Gotta go."

He put his cell phone down with a sigh of relief.

"Honestly, kid, I do not know why you talk to that girl," Plagg said. "But did I hear her say something about Marinette?"

Adrien cringed. "I'm worried about her, Plagg."

Plagg smirked. "You know what you could do then, don't you?"

Adrien bit his lip.

Plagg tapped his foot.

Adrien gave up. "Oh, alright. One more time. Claws out, Plagg," he said, and he headed out to spy on Marinette again. For her own good.

* * *

 _"Where would he be? Where would he be?" Marinette chanted to herself. She had to find Chat Noir and figure out what had happened to him. Her Chat would never have attacked someone innocent, and she was sure he would never have kidnapped Adrien. Maybe Adrien had gone out without telling his dad. Hopefully that's what had happened. With Mr. Agreste's permission, she'd searched everywhere inside the Agreste mansion and around it. Neither Chat Noir nor Adrien were anywhere to be seen._

 _"So maybe Adrien's at Nino's or something. But where would Chat Noir have gone then?" she asked herself again as she swung through the city with the Eiffel Tower in view. She and Chat Noir had fought a lot of battles there. Could he be waiting for her?_

 _She reached the tower and swung up the rails, geared up for a fight, only to find Chat Noir perched calmly on one of the tallest lattices._

 _"Chat?"_

 _He watched her climb, looking completely normal. "Bug," he said. "Hey."_

 _She sat down cautiously by him. "Have you seen the news?"_

 _"What news?" he said, and she felt deep relief. He had no idea what was going on. Whatever happened to Gabriel Agreste, Chat Noir wasn't behind it. There must have been another copycat. She started telling him what she'd seen._

 _"Huh," Chat said. "So do you think that kid, Adrien, was akumatized? I bet he has all kinds of reasons to hate his father."_

 _Ladybug had never thought of that._

 _"Adrien?" she pondered. "As a villain? But he seems so…nice."_

 _Chat Noir laughed dangerously. "Nice is an easy cover for damaged inside." He leaned back and looked up at the sky. "You really never know what 'nice' guy might be damaged. I bet you don't know Adrien as well as you think."_

 _"I…hardly know Adrien at all," she lied. "I was just taking a guess."_

 _"Sure," Chat Noir said, and that dangerous edge was still on his voice. "Why don't you take a guess about me, Ladybug? What do you think I'm like under this mask? Do you think I'm a nice guy?"_

 _She shivered. "I'm…yes, of course you are, Chat."_

 _He lowered his voice. "But you don't even know who I am. For all you know, I could be very damaged inside."_

 _"Chat, you're scaring me," she said._

 _He snaked his arm around her waist and she tensed up. "Awe…don't worry Ladybug. I don't want to hurt you. All I want…" He put his hand on her magic yo-yo and snatched it away from her. "Is the truth."_

 _His eyes flashed weirdly._

 _This wasn't her Chat._

 _This was an akumatized Chat._

 _"You didn't even notice me unclasping the belt, did you?" He laughed and held the yo-yo above her head._

 _"Chat, no!" she said, but he only continued to laugh maliciously._

 _She lunged for her yo-yo._

 _"Not so fast, Ladybug," he said, stopping her progress by extending his magic stick out into the air and then tossing her yo-yo and letting it fall. "I think you're staying with me for a while. I have some questions for you, and you're going to answer them."_

 _She stared at him in shock._

 _He stared back. "Good girl," he said. "Now, who are you Ladybug?"_

 _Her tongue began moving before she could stop it. "I'm Ma-" She fought against it. Whatever he was doing was making her feel compelled to answer truthfully. "I'm…I'm a seventeen-year-old girl."_

 _He was not deterred. "And?"_

 _"And I…I'm a Parisian."_

 _"And?"_

 _Her magic yo-yo had appeared at her side again. She used it to leverage herself away from him. "And I'm not answering any more of your questions," she said._

 _Thus began a chase through the city more brutal than any she'd ever had._

* * *

"Marinette, wake up," Tikki said softly in her ear. She'd stayed up late most nights that week, waiting to see if Chat would show up again, but tonight she had been too tired to do it. There had been another akumatized villain to fight. She'd missed another afternoon of classes. She'd had to make up another set of excuses. She was late for dinner again.

Her mother had patted her on the cheek when she got home, pointed to the news on the TV, and whispered, "Ladybug did a good job, again, sweetheart," but Marinette was so tired she could barely say "thanks, Mom." She nearly fell asleep during dinner. When she tried to get started on the mounds of homework she had to do for the weekend, she did fall asleep.

"Marinette, you have to wake up. He's up there on your balcony. He's been looking down into your room."

She sat up groggily. "Do you think I should go up there, Tikki?" she asked. "I really want to see him, but I don't want to risk scaring him away."

"Maybe you should transform, first," Tikki suggested. "Then you could catch him by the ankle with your yo-yo so he couldn't run away."

"Tikki!" Marinette scolded. "I'm not catching the cat by the ankle! He has a tail if I'm going that route." She stared up at the hatch to her balcony. Should she try to catch him at all? Now that he was here, she wasn't sure. The last time she'd seen Chat…

* * *

 _Ladybug was exhausted. She'd gotten so used to fighting with Chat Noir, she usually only thought of his skills in terms of how he helped their partnership. She didn't think about which one of them could run faster or which could leap further. She didn't think about whether he was stronger physically or whether she ever needed to worry about him turning on her. The last villain that had turned him against her had been Dark Cupid, and that was forever ago._

 _As they fought their way through Paris, she was stunned to discover the number of ways in which he could best her. And in the meanwhile, she had another problem on her hands. Police sirens had lit up the financial district sometime during their fight. Something else was wrong. So she guided Chat toward the Paris Stock Exchange, where they came face-to-face with a man calling himself The Ripper and shouting about how he'd rip to shreds anyone who crossed him. His hands were shaped into sharp claws, and he looked lethal._

 _The Ripper did not go unnoticed by Chat. Though he seemed bent on finding out Ladybug's real identity at any cost, Chat hadn't, apparently, completely forgotten that he had other responsibilities as well. He began alternating between fighting off The Ripper with her and fighting to pin her down long enough to force the truth out of her. It threw her off, and she found herself having closer and closer shaves with Chat Noir. One minute he was swinging her around to knock back The Ripper, and the next he was swinging her down to the ground or into a wall so that he could ask her who she was. When she realized she couldn't handle it all at once, she used her lucky charm, and the valentine she'd written for Adrien Agreste when she was 15 materialized in her hand._

 _A valentine? What was she supposed to do with that?_

 _She had no idea, and Chat Noir was a lot trickier than other akumatized villains. She couldn't even figure out where he might be hiding the akuma. It couldn't have been his ring, could it? Or his bell? Where could he possibly have something tucked? He'd laughed at her when she'd eyed his zippered pocket earlier in the fight._

 _"Not in there, Bug," he'd said, then he vaulted over her and swept her off her feet with his stick from behind._

 _So could it be somewhere inside that skin-tight suit? But no, that was impossible, wasn't it? They'd had a conversation about the matter of suits once. Neither of their suits came off. They were magically sealed in until they transformed out. If there was something under his suit, there was no way for her to get to it._

 _She looked dumbly at the valentine, and Chat Noir rushed her again and succeeded in knocking her onto her back._

 _"Who. Are. You?" he demanded one more time. She'd realized that she only had to answer truthfully when he was looking right at her. If she avoided his eyes, she could avoid telling the truth. She jerked her head sideways while he pressed her wrists hard into the pavement, scratching her skin even through her suit. His knees tightened around her hips until she felt like he was going to make them snap. When she tried to kick, he made the clamp on her hips even tighter. She heard her earrings beep._

 _"It doesn't matter," he said to her. "I'm going to get the truth from you. If you want to wait it out, I'm game. Or you could just tell me who you are."_

 _She moaned from the pain and he groaned like he was in agony from her not answering._

 _"Why won't you just tell me?" he demanded angrily. "I loved you from the very beginning, you know. I never wanted to force it out of you. I always respected you. I always protected you. I was always there for you. You never had a reason not to trust me. And I would have told you. I'd have shared everything with you. So why couldn't you just tell me? Do you see what you've done?"_

 _Her earrings beeped a second time. He winced and closed his eyes, then opened them again._

 _"And I'm not the only one who has a reason to see you transform."_

 _His hands were larger than she'd realized. She wouldn't have thought he'd have been able to hold both her wrists down with only one hand. But he was able to do it, and it hurt even worse when he squeezed her wrists together as he let go with his left hand to reach for her ear. The valentine fell out of her fingers above her head._

 _"What is that?" he asked suddenly._

 _"Lucky charm," she croaked weakly._

 _"A valentine?" He snatched it up and looked at it, before demanding: "What kind of joke is this!? What are you doing with this?!"_

 _She took a breath. "I don't know," she admitted._

 _"You shouldn't have this!" he said. "This is mine. This was from Ladybug."_

 _He was unhinged. It was terrible to watch. He thought the valentine she'd written to Adrien was a valentine Ladybug had sent him._

 _"Was it signed?" she asked._

 _"No," Chat snapped. "But I know it was from her. She wanted me to know she loved me."_

 _Suddenly, Ladybug knew why the lucky charm was a valentine and where the akuma was._

 _She knew what she had to break._

 _He shook his head like he was trying to clear his eyes. "It was from you," he said. "Because you loved me."_

 _This was going to be the worse thing she'd ever broken. Her earring beeped a third time._

 _"Because Ladybug loved me," he repeated._

 _She turned to look him in the eyes. "You want the truth, don't you?" she said._

 _"Yes…"_

 _"Then the truth is that valentine wasn't from Ladybug." She winced as his face fell a million miles, and his eyes clouding over and drifting away from hers gave her the ability to tell the lie she really needed to tell:_

 _"I never loved you, Chat."_

 _He made a wheezing sound. His chest seemed to lurch. She had to be right about this. She had to be._

 _"You never loved me?" he repeated._

 _She looked far away. "I never loved you."_

 _A black butterfly materialized out of his chest._

 _He was still holding her down. She needed to capture the akuma before she transformed back._

 _"Please, Chat, you have to let me go," she begged._

 _He stared suddenly at her like he'd recognized her for the first time all night. The akuma flew higher and higher away._

 _"Chat?" she asked as she lost sight of the akuma._

 _He let her go like he didn't know what he'd been doing in the first place, and the look on his face broke her heart as easily as she knew she'd just broken his. Her earrings beeped a fourth time. Should she stay? Maybe she should just own up to who she was now. But somehow this didn't seem like the right way to do it…_

 _"That's my last warning," she told him shakily. "I'll be back as soon as I can to explain everything." His face looked so dire. "But watch out. There might be another akumatized villain on the loose. Someone called the Ripper."_

 _"Another akumatized villain," he'd said in an awful, hoarse voice as she dashed away from him and looked for a safe place to transform._

 _"Tikki!" she said when her little kwami appeared. "Hurry! Chat needs me back there."_

 _Tikki rolled over onto her tummy in Marinette's hands. "I'm sorry Marinette. That fight just took so much energy."_

 _Marinette peaked out from behind the shadows. Chat was throwing up. He was in so much pain she could practically feel it. And then the worst thing she could imagine happened._

 _The Ripper appeared from out of the shadows and stalked toward Chat._

 _"Hurry, Tikki!" Marinette pleaded._

 _"I can't Marinette!" Tikki said._

 _There was no way Marinette was going to let Chat get hurt again because of her. She ran to him — not as Ladybug, but as Marinette — screaming as The Ripper made his move. And for once she was the one protecting him. She barely felt it as The Ripper slashed through her flesh from the top of her rib cage down to her hip._

 _Chat yelled out and in a flash he was hovering above her, his face a terrifying mixture of rage, hurt, fear and shock, but The Ripper was still there behind him._

 _"The Ripper," she moaned to Chat. "Don't let him hurt anyone else."_

 _His face transformed to destruction itself, and he went after the Ripper like an avenging beast. He was going to kill The Ripper, she realized. There wasn't going to be a chance to fix it. She didn't want Chat to be a killer. He couldn't be. It would destroy him if he found out he'd killed someone later. Her Chat wasn't a killer. She didn't want that._

 _She used the last strength she had to cry out "no," to him and then to whisper: "he's just an akumitized human."_

 _Chat looked stricken again. He demobilized The Ripper with a final swift, hard hit to the kneecap. The Ripper went down. Marinette finally felt peace, though she was shaking and her vision was spotty and she felt faint. It occurred to her that she should be afraid, except in the next moment Chat was picking her up and cradling her against his chest, and she knew she was safe and it was going to be okay._

 _"Thank you," she said, "For not killing him."_

* * *

Chat Noir sat on Marinette Dupain-Cheng's balcony, just below the flower pots she took such good care of, and wondered why he'd come here again. She was sleeping peacefully, and so was everyone else in her house. Her house of bakers. Chloé was an idiot. No one in this house was hiding anything unless you were talking about the secret to a mean spinach pie. Marinette and her family were amazingly normal people who lived in an amazingly normal house with amazingly normal flowers.

Adrien, however, was amazingly abnormal. He had an amazingly abnormal life with his amazingly rich father and his amazingly luxurious mansion that was amazingly empty all the fucking-amazing-time. And when he wasn't studying by himself or at some wretched photo shoot, Adrien could transform into an amazingly destructive superhero, capable of bringing doom to everyone he cared about.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid.

He stood up. He had to stop doing this. He had to stop spying on Marinette like a loser. He had to stop transforming. He flung himself off her balcony and back into the night, missing completely the sound of a window hatch opening behind him.

* * *

"I missed him, Tikki," Marinette said sadly.

"But he was here," Tikki said. "And this is the second time this week."

Marinette thought again about the last time she'd been with Chat Noir. She could guess how he'd ended up akumatized to become The Truth Seeker. It was practically her doing. And she hadn't ever had the chance to ask him if he remembered her breaking his heart to free the akuma, but his reaction to everything was so visceral that she knew he was hurt no matter what he remembered.

So how could she have gone and made it worse by getting hurt herself? She was glad she'd protected his body from The Ripper, but it almost seemed like her injuries had broken his heart even more that night. It shouldn't have been him comforting her the very last time she'd been with him. It shouldn't have been her head against his chest, his arms around her body, his lips kissing the top of her head. (Or had she imagined that? She had been going in and out of consciousness by that time, and maybe he hadn't kissed her. Chat was in love with Ladybug, not Marinette. But he was a kind, loving person generally. She understood if it had upset him bad enough to see a girl hurt that he'd kiss the top of her head to comfort her. That was nothing to be jealous of. And how could she be jealous of herself, anyway?)

"I hope he comes back," she said.

"What will you do if he does?" Tikki asked.

"Hug him, I think," Marinette said. "And tell him everything."

"And maybe kiss him?" Tikki suggested mischievously.

Marinette frowned. "He might still be angry at me. I think I really betrayed him, Tikki. And he might feel totally different about me once he finds out I'm Marinette."

Tikki giggled. "You're right, Marinette. He might love you even more once he knows all of you. Don't you think maybe you'll want to kiss him then?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I'm still going to have to tell him what an idiot he's been for disappearing."

Tikki batted her eyelashes. "Maybe that's how you can do it. I hear kissing is very persuasive."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Sorry for the super delay! An evil plot monster is messing with my plot bunnies, and I've been trying to write this chapter for three weeks now. Gah...the perils of fanfiction...

* * *

Chapter 6 - Almost Adrinette

He didn't come back.

Marinette waited and waited while day after day passed, life went on, school went on, new villains showed up, and Chat didn't come back to her balcony. The cough from her cold lingered into the end of the next week.

In the meanwhile, Alya and Nino were manning a two-person operation to cheer her up.

But not a very successful operation, Marinette thought Thursday evening, as she poked at the bubbles in her raspberry jasmine bubble tea. Alya and Nino had insisted she join them for Pad Thai and bubble tea at their favorite Thai place. She'd agreed, mostly because she knew that starting next week she would barely be around to see them at all thanks to the Gabriel program. Now, however, they were sitting in a booth and Nino and Alya were quite cozy in the bench across from Marinette, while she sat on her side alone and feeling like a third wheel.

A flat third wheel that they kept trying to pump up.

"You have to trust me, Marinette," Nino said. "This is Adrien we're talking about. He's my boy. I know him."

Marinette sucked up a jasmine bubble. Adrien was texting Nino more often these days. Apparently he asked about her every other text.

"He obviously fell for you when you were in the hospital in June," Alya said. "You were probably just too drugged up at the time to realize. You were spaced out whenever I visited too."

"Great," Marinette said sarcastically. "So glad to know the only time I'm attractive to boys is when I'm spaced out."

Alya's face dropped. "That is not what I meant!"

Nino laughed. "Relax, Mar. It doesn't matter what you were like in the hospital. Adrien liked you way before then. And I totally agree with Alya on this. Again, he's my boy, and my boy's not asking about _Lila_ , if you know what I mean."

She knew what he meant. She stabbed another jasmine bubble. Lila was still a sore spot for Marinette, since Adrien had actually dated her. It was serious, too, and it had gone on for months before it finally ended after Lila got caught sabotaging Chloé Bourgeois's end-of-year graphic design assignment. Marinette had been extremely jealous the whole time, and to make matters worse, Chat Noir had been going through a weird slump at the time. It was all Marinette could do not to try to interfere with Adrien's relationship. She could have used some terrible flirting from Chat Noir. Of all times for him not to be in the mood!

The only good thing to come of the whole escapade was a brief bonding moment between Marinette and Chloé, who hated Lila even more than Marinette did. She, Chloé, Lila and Adrien were all in the same graphic design class that year. Marinette and Chloé had unfortunately been assigned seats next to each other in the second row, while Adrien sat next to Lila in the front. But the day after he figured out what Lila had done to Chloé, he came into class, took one look at Lila, and marched straight to the back of the room to sit in a row by himself.

Marinette glanced at Chloé after he sat down, only to discover Chloé glancing right back at her. And then they shared the most satisfying secret smirk Marinette had ever shared with anyone.

But in any case…it was not a surprise that Adrien wasn't asking about Lila these days, and she was flattered that he was asking about her. Maybe it meant he was thinking about coming back to school. It was only that…

"Seriously, Mar. You and Adrien would be, like, perfect together. You're both these totally cool people, but when it comes to each other, you're nervous spazzettes," Nino said.

"What's a spazzette?" Alya asked Nino. "Did you make that word up?"

Marinette wondered why an akumatized villain hadn't shown up yet to save her from this conversation. Why couldn't Adrien have decided earlier that he liked her? Before Chat Noir had invaded her heart?

* * *

 _Marinette woke up in a hospital bed with a very impressive bandage wrapped around her torso. Her first thought was, "where's Chat Noir?" and her second was, "oh no, I never captured the akuma." Of all akumas not to capture! What was she going to do? And what about The Ripper? Was he still out there?_

 _She tried to sit up and succeeded only in discovering that any attempt to move meant tearing skin. She collapsed back into her pillow, and realized she was in a hospital gown, not her normal clothes._

 _Her earrings._

 _She felt for them. They were gone. Her miraculous was gone._

 _"Marinette? Honey?"_

 _She looked around. Her parents were both in the room. Her mom had a million pieces of tissue in her lap, and her dad's eyes were red._

 _"Mom? Dad?" She instinctively tried to sit up again. "Ow," she moaned, clutching her side. "What…what happened? Where's Chat Noir?"_

 _"He brought you here," her mom said, coming over to the side of her bed. "You were hurt pretty badly. He told us you jumped in front of a villain to save him." She clasped Marinette's hand. "What were you thinking? What were you doing there?"_

 _She had been thinking someone she cared about a lot more than she had ever realized before was in grave danger._

 _"Oh, Marinette, it's okay. We can talk about that later," her dad said. "What's important right now is that you're okay. Today all you need to do is rest."_

 _She shook her head. "I need to know where Chat Noir is. And, uh, where my stuff is."_

 _Her parents both smiled like she was being cute. "They put in thirty stitches," her mom said. "You're going to need a new jacket. But your Chat Noir waited in the visitor's lounge with us for hours last night. He refused to go until the surgeon came back out and said you'd be okay. Then he had to leave because he said there was still a villain out there."_

 _A villain whose akuma Chat Noir wouldn't be able to capture without her._

 _She moaned out loud._

 _"Don't worry, the nurses will be in soon again with more painkillers," her dad said. He pointed to a plastic bag sitting on a stand by her bed. "And all your things are in that bag. Even your favorite earrings. Mom checked for you."_

 _That was good. "But-"_

 _"And you've had another visitor," her mom said, raising her eyebrow at Marinette like this one was going to be really exciting._

 _"Who?" Marinette asked. "Has Alya been here?"_

 _"Nope," her mom said. "Because Alya texted me be today. I told her you wouldn't be well enough to see visitors until tomorrow. But Adrien Agreste didn't think to call first. He was here this morning."_

 _"Adrien was here?"_

 _"What, does that mean something to you?" her dad teased._

 _"No!" Marinette blushed. Of course it didn't..._

 _Oh, who was she kidding? Of course it did. Adrien was like her frickin' Achilles heal. But that made her feel insanely guilty. Chat Noir was the one she loved. Chat Noir was her top priority. Chat Noir was who she needed to see._

 _"Mmm hmm," her dad said. "Well, I'm sure you don't have to see him when he comes back tomorrow." He pointed to a pretty vase full of gorgeous flowers on the windowsill. "But in case it makes a difference, those are from him."_

* * *

" 'Hey Ad-ri-en. Mar-i-nette just to-ld me she lo-ves you.'"

"Seriously, Nino," Alya said. "She's not even listening."

Marinette looked back up at them from the Pad Thai that had arrived for her and that she was pushing around on her plate to make it look like she'd eaten. Nino had his phone out and was typing something. "What?" Marinette asked.

"He's texting Adrien," Alya said.

Marinette sighed and leaned back in her seat.

Alya huffed out a breath. "Don't bother, Nino. Marinette's too depressed to care. And when she snaps out of it, she'll probably kill you for that text."

Nino set his phone down and picked up his chopsticks. "Fine. I'm not going to tell Adrien anything." He pointed the chopsticks at Marinette. "But if he asks specifically, I'm not going to encourage him not to go for it with you."

"Okay," Marinette said listlessly.

Alya groaned.

* * *

 _"Marinette?"_

 _It was Marinette's second morning in the hospital. The nurse had told her visiting hours were going to start soon, but she was preoccupied staring out the window, worrying about Chat Noir again. There were villains out there. There was The Ripper. There was the akuma that had escaped from his heart and never been caught. And he hadn't come to see her last night._

 _"Marinette?"_

 _It must have been a wistful moment, because she'd have sworn it was Chat's voice saying her name the second time, but when she looked, it was just Adrien with his messenger bag._

 _Just Adrien._

 _"Adrien?" she said foolishly, as if she didn't recognize him._

 _"Hey Marinette," he said softly. "Can I come in?_

 _He sounded shy._

 _Adrien. Shy._

 _She suspected that she was dreaming, but she said "okay" and tried to sit up. It was still really difficult with all those stitches. She froze in pain and tears came to the corners of her eyes as flesh began to rip._

 _Adrien dropped is bag at the door and his arm was behind her back before she realized it was happening. "Lean against me," he urged, and she obediently fell back against his arm. Adrien was sturdy, and he was resourceful, too. He'd already grabbed a remote that had been sitting on the stand by her bed. He used it to angle the bed up and support her back._

 _"Is that better?" he asked as he gently helped her settle back into the pillows._

 _"Yeah, it's just…a lot of stitches," she lied. Because it wasn't okay. It hurt, and everything Adrien was doing was making her think of Chat Noir again. It was the warmth of his arm more than anything, she thought. Just like it felt when Chat Noir put his arm around her to catch her in a fight. Would Chat come see her tonight?_

 _"You should be careful using your core," Adrien said._

 _She looked dumbly at him. "What?"_

 _He blushed this time, and rubbed his neck. "Sorry. I shouldn't be giving you advice. You have doctors for that."_

 _She was doing something to make him feel like she was offended. She had no idea what. She was too preoccupied to know. He stood there awkwardly._

 _Adrien. Awkward._

 _She needed to talk. "Um…thanks for the flowers," she said. "They're pretty. It was nice of you to think of me. And visit."_

 _He frowned. "You're my friend, Marinette. Flowers were the least I could do."_

 _She looked at the flowers. There were multiple types, several of her favorites, and not all of them had opened up yet, so they were going to last a long time. If he'd picked them out himself, he'd done a good job. Maybe Nathalie had done it._

 _"I brought you books today instead," he said, half shy and half eager this time. "I thought your pain meds might be making you tired, but maybe I could read to you for a while. If…you wanted me to."_

 _Marinette hadn't expected him to stay more than a couple minutes. It hadn't occurred to her that he might be there for more than that. For the first time she could ever remember feeling this way, she hadn't even wanted him for more than that. But if he left, she'd be left alone with her thoughts, and she was going to drive herself crazy worrying about Chat._

 _She nodded at Adrien, so he returned to his bags, picked them up, pulled a chair toward her and dug out a book. It was Pride and Prejudice. "I didn't know what you would like," he said, holding it up. "But this was one of my mom's favorites."_

 _Marinette loved Jane Austen, and Adrien was an excellent narrator. He gave the characters different voices, and snickered at the parts she'd always thought were funny, too. Visiting hours passed more quickly than she'd expected._

* * *

Nino ate most of Marinette's Pad Thai.

"Aren't you even a little excited about next week?" Alya asked Marinette. "Your program is starting. Maybe you'll get to design something for Adrien to model."

"I've never designed men's clothes," Marinette said.

Alya gave her a look.

Marinette sighed. "Okay. Fine. Maybe I'll have to design another hat for him to wear. So what?"

"So maybe you'll get to see Adrien," Alya explained like she was utterly exasperated. "And I bet the minute he sees you, it'll snap him right out of his weird anti-social funk."

"But there was another article in the news last week about the Agrestes," Marinette reminded them. "Someone tried to break into their mansion again."

Alya threw her hands up in the air. "They're rich! Someone's going to be trying to steal from them their whole lives! That doesn't mean Adrien should live in fear like this. It means he should get three more Gorillas."

"Gorilla's one of a kind," Marinette mused. "I should know."

"So not the point, Marinette," Alya said.

* * *

 _Visiting hours passed by quickly whenever Adrien came, and he was there every day, even as Marinette's hospital stay was extended thanks to the need for a second surgery and an unpleasant follow-up infection. The medical staff got to know Marinette well, and Adrien got to know at least six of the nurses by their first names himself. Even Alya didn't visit as much as Adrien, and the hospital was a far more public place than school. Adrien's fans started noticing his daily visits. After a group of pre-teens showed up in Marinette's room during visiting hours — not to visit Marinette but to swoon over Adrien Agreste — Marinette thought for sure those visits would be over._

 _Instead, Adrien came the next day with his bodyguard, Gorilla, in tow. "Sorry," Adrien said. "If it were just about the fan girls, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but my dad and I have been getting threat letters. He doesn't want me going anywhere without my bodyguards these days. Gorilla can block the whole door, though, and he's really quiet. You won't even notice he's here, I promise."_

 _She thought it was going to be hard not to notice Gorilla there, but he stood in the doorway with his back to them, vigilantly guarding the room, while Adrien picked up Pride and Prejudice like Gorilla wasn't there at all. Soon, Gorilla did fade into the background, and after Gorilla was always part of Adrien's hospital visits._

 _Marinette didn't know until after she got out of the hospital just how bad the situation had been. It was hard to miss her face on the cover of The Paris Stargaze, though, under a headline that read: "New girlfriend for mega-model Adrien Agreste?"_

 _Adrien laughed it off at first. "The Stargaze makes up at least three new girlfriends for me every year. I've been engaged to Chloé twice in that thing, and Lila left Paris that summer after we broke up because she didn't want me to know the secret love child she was pregnant with was Hawk Mouth's, not mine."_

 _They were sitting on Marinette's bed at her home with the copy of the Stargaze Alya had given Marinette between them. Adrien was still visiting daily, though now he was helping her catch up on school work instead of just reading to her. His visits were a good distraction. She was even more worried about Chat, who had somehow left a short note for her the last night she'd been in the hospital. It was a goodbye note, and it was scary. In it, he told her she probably wouldn't be seeing him again._

 _She was desperate to start patrolling again. She had to talk to him._

 _The Stargaze at least gave her something else to worry about._

 _"I don't think I want to be pregnant with Hawk Mouth's secret love child in the Stargaze," she told Adrien nervously in response to his dismissal of the article, because she thought that would be a very real problem._

 _Adrien tore the article out of the magazine, crumpled it up and tossed it down from her loft into the trash by her desk. She thought he had impressive aim, and then she thought about Chat Noir again and everything inside her hurt. Adrien had stretched his hospital visits out longer every day, and now that he was visiting her at home, he always stayed until Gorilla (who waited in his car outside), told him he had to leave. He sat closer to her every time he was with her, and it was absolutely pathetic how easily Adrien could make her want to swoon doing the stupidest, littlest things._

 _Like now, how he was twisting toward her with that warm look he got whenever he was feeling affectionate with someone and reaching for her like he was going to put his hands on her shoulders. He bypassed her shoulders instead in favor of wrapping his arms around her carefully for a hug._

 _"I'm really sorry, Marinette. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. I only wanted to be a good friend. My dad hates the Stargaze. He'd probably love to have our lawyers call them about this."_

 _What was wrong with her that she could love someone else and still want to melt into Adrien forever as he hugged her?_

 _He sighed after a while and pulled away. "If it matters at all, you're definitely the coolest girl the Stargaze has ever decided is my girlfriend." He blushed. "I hope it's not too awful for you."_

 _She out-blushed him. "Well you're the coolest guy someone else has ever decided is my boyfriend," she admitted._

 _"Really?" he asked. "Because I always thought the Evillustrator was pretty cool."_

 _Three weeks later two men in a white van attacked Marinette on her way to school and demanded a million dollars from the Agrestes for the return of Adrien's girlfriend. They weren't akumatized villains. They were only mean, rough people who never let her see their faces and wore devices that disguised their voices. It took Marinette four hours to figure out how to use her miraculous powers to get herself out of the van without actually transforming into Ladybug, and she escaped just as Gorilla found the van himself._

 _Gorilla was the one who drove Marinette back home. He offered her peppermints from the glove box to soothe her nerves._

 _"I don't think I want to be soothed, Mr. Gorilla," she said. "I'm so angry at them. I just want to figure out who they were and what they want from the Agrestes."_

 _Gorilla chuckled. "Sounds like exactly the kind of thing Adelina would have said, Miss Marinette."_

 _"Adelina?"_

 _"Agreste," Gorilla explained. "Adrien's mother. Maybe you can ask him to tell you about her later. He's going to want to see you."_

 _Gorilla was wrong about that. She got a visit from the police, and Mr. Agreste's lawyers sat with her parents for a very long time, talking out options. Adrien didn't want to see her, though. That night, she got a long, apologetic email from him. He wasn't_ ever _coming to see her again. They couldn't be friends. He couldn't have real friends. Not as long as someone wanted to hurt his father bad enough that they'd try to get to him through his friends. He told her the Agreste publicists were going to distribute a story saying she'd broken up with him._

 _"…Don't worry. They'll blame the fake break up on me," the email read. "I'll ask them to make me look like a high-maintenance model or something, and you'll be clean. You won't ever have to worry about getting hurt again because of me. I hope you understand how much I'll miss you and how sorry I am for all of this. Spending time with you the last few weeks has meant everything to me, and I'll always be your friend at heart, even if we can't be anything else."_

 _He'd signed it "yours, Adrien."_

 _"At least he said goodbye," Tikki had said while Marinette cried that night, but it didn't make her feel any better. She'd had too many goodbyes recently, and even though she'd started patrolling again, Chat was nowhere to be found._

 _"I don't understand Tikki. Do you think this is punishment from the universe for caring about Adrien even though I love Chat?"_

 _"I think it's possible to love more than one person, Marinette," Tikki said gently. "And that there isn't anything wrong with you for having a big enough heart to care about them both. You're in a confusing situation right now, but it will all work out. I promise."_

* * *

"Did Nino eat all of your Pad Thai?" Alya asked Marinette as they waited for a taxi together outside the Thai place. Nino had already started walking back to his place.

A lamp post flickered out nearby and they heard someone laughing from the shadows. "I am Lights Out!" the someone cried. "I will remove all the light from Paris, and I will take Ladybug's miraculous!"

"Of course it would happen after dinner and not during," Marinette muttered.

"Oh snap!" Alya said. "I have to go. Ladybug's going to be here, soon!"

"I'll…uh…see you tomorrow then," Marinette said. "Thanks for dinner."

"No prob, babe! Cheer up!" Alya said, and then she was off in the direction of the darkening lamp posts.

Marinette waited just long enough to be able to sneak off into an alley by the restaurant.

"Guess what, Tikki?" she whispered.

"Spots on?" Tikki answered.

"Spots on," Marinette agreed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl.

* * *

Chapter 7 - Almost Marichat

"Has it ever occurred to you that you might have a thing for Marinette?" Plagg asked Adrien. The mischievous kwami was sitting on a plate of Camembert cheese. He chomped up a large bite and swallowed it down whole.

Adrien ignored him. He was charting what he believed to be Marinette's schedule on an enormous piece of drafting paper. Regular classes Monday through Friday, that advanced fashion design class she had talked about at the end of last year every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon from 2 to 3:30. Babysitting for her mom's friend on Saturdays. Student council meetings Friday morning before school. Helping her parents in the bakery on Sunday…

"And now the _Gabriel_ program…Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 4 to whenever my dad lets her leave," Adrien said to himself, drawing it in on the chart in red.

"Honestly, kid, this is getting obsessive," Plagg observed. "If you want to be friends with her again, all you have to do is go back to school." He sucked down another large bite of cheese. "Or you could call her and ask her to come over."

"It's not that simple, Plagg." Adrien said. "Don't you remember what happened at the end of last year? Those nut jobs after me and my dad kidnapped Marinette and held her for ransom just because they knew she was my friend!"

Plagg flopped over onto his back, his belly protruding with cheese. "The ransom note demanded a million euros for your _girlfriend_ , not your friend." He pointed at Adrien's chart. "And if you want the world to think something else, you better make sure no one ever sees that."

"This is how I'm going to keep track of when I can see her without looking like her friend at all," Adrien explained. "If she's going to be at Agreste Tower three days a week with my dad, it'll be easy. No one is going to think anything of dad's mentee being at the Tower the same time as me. I'm there all the time for shoots. No risk of someone labeling her my girlfriend for a few chance meetings."

"Sure," Plagg drawled. "No one is going to think anything of you hijacking Marinette's mentorship program."

"I'm not hijacking it! I'm just going to be there conveniently to…show her around…and maybe hang out with her on breaks…"

"And have romantic dinners with her…and make out in that creepy mannequin room…"

Adrien scrunched up his nose. "Why would we make out there?"

Plagg grinned at him. "So you _are_ thinking about making out with her, then?"

"No! I am only thinking of a less creepy way to find out how she's doing than showing up on her balcony in the middle of the night in a skin-tight cat suit."

Plagg turned over onto his side and lounged like a lingerie model. "The cat suit's more likely to get you laid than your chart."

Adrien dropped his pen. "Plagg!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. This is all platonic and hanging out with Marinette doesn't make you super happy, relaxed and content or anything because she's not the girl whose painted-on-polka-dot-spandex-super-suit makes you drool." He hopped up and jumped down to stand on Adrien's drafting paper. "But I don't see you charting out Ladybug's superhero schedule."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Adrien said. "Marinette and Ladybug are two very different problems for me. Marinette's a friend I care a lot about and never get to see because of my stupid father's terrible reputation. Ladybug's someone I love more than anything who I can't work with anymore because if I do, I could personally put her in danger. Me. And she doesn't make me drool because she wears a spandex suit. I love her for what's under the spandex suit."

Plagg raised an eyebrow at him.

"That wasn't what I meant," Adrien muttered. He rolled up his chart. "I need to get more information about Marinette's _Gabriel_ schedule."

"Oooh…what are you going to do? Break into your dad's office?"

Adrien had thought about that. "Too dangerous."

Plagg's eyes lit up. "So in that case…"

Adrien really needed to stop doing this. But…

"Claws out, Plagg."

* * *

"That was too close, Marinette," Tikki said as she flopped down on Marinette's desk.

"I know," Marinette said, flopping down on her chair. It had been close. Lights Out would have been no problem if she'd been with Chat Noir. He had night vision. She had regular vision. And she loved Chat — she really thought she did — but on nights like tonight it was hard not to be frustrated with him, too. If he cared about her at all, then how could he think she was better off without him? Had her betrayal of his trust been that bad?

She sighed and opened her desk drawer to pull out the note Chat had left her.

 _"Marinette — there isn't much I feel I can say that would adequately thank you for saving my life. I've always thought of myself as a guardian of Paris, but you were my guardian that night. I'm ashamed to tell you I was in the situation you found me in because of my own doing. I've lost a lot since then, including, I'm sorry to say, the trust of my partner. It is thanks only to you that I did not also lose my life._

 _I wish I could take back everything that happened, but since I cannot, I have made the decision to retire my claws. I don't ever want anyone innocent to come to harm because of something foolish I've done. I do not want to waste your sacrifice. You are a beautiful person. I wish you the best of luck in life and a speedy recovery. Your friend, Chat Noir."_

He hadn't said goodbye to her as Ladybug at all, but based on his note to Marinette, she had her suspicions about why he'd decided to disappear.

"Marinette, do you hear that?"

Marinette looked blankly at Tikki, who pointed up toward the roof.

"I think someone's up there," Tikki said.

"Do you think it could be him?" Marinette asked quickly.

Tikki's bug eyes bugged out. "You have to go see!"

Marinette jumped out of her chair. "Hide just in case," she said as she climbed up her loft ladder. Chat Noir was stealthy. She couldn't hear anything, but he would have been able to make himself quiet if he wanted. She hesitated at the hatch window. Should she barrel out there just like this? What would he do? Would he run? But if she didn't open the window, she might miss him. She put her hand on the the latch.

And Chat Noir's face appeared in the window.

She shrieked in surprise and fell back onto her loft bed while his face disappeared as fast as it had come into view in the first place. By the time she'd scrambled back up the ladder and made it out onto the balcony, he was perched on the ledge.

"Chat!" she cried. "Wait! Please!"

He looked back at her a second time, and she thought for a moment he was going to stay.

Then he leapt away from her.

"Chat Noir!" she yelled. "Please! Come back!" She turned to yell back into her room. "Tikki! Spots on! I have to go after him!"

Tikki flitted up to her. "Marinette, I'm so sorry! I don't have enough energy for you to transform right now."

"But this could be the last time he comes back!" Marinette said frantically.

Tikki wrung her hands. "I can't, Marinette. I'm so so sorry!"

Marinette watched out over the sky, hoping maybe Chat's face would come into view again. When it didn't, she climbed back down the loft ladder.

"Tikki, what am I going to do? If I never get to talk to him, how am I ever going to explain that the akuma is still out there? How am I going to get him back as my partner?"

"What you need is a plan," Tikki said. "He's going to come to your balcony again. I can feel it. You just need a way to catch him when he does."

An idea sprung up in Marinette's head. "You're right, Tikki! Why didn't I think of it before? I've been treating Chat like a cat that will come back when he's ready." She smiled at her own genuis plan. "But he's acting like a timid mouse."

Tikki clapped her hands. "Ooh…are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking it's time to set a trap," Marinette said.

And for the first time in forever, she felt hopeful.

* * *

"I gotta tell you, I have never had a black cat try harder to kill me with stress," Plagg complained the next morning as he and Adrien sneaked down the hall toward is father's home office. "Didn't you think last night's call was close enough?"

It had been close. Very very close. And the moment when Marinette's face had flashed in front of his was going to be seared into Adrien's memory for a very very long time. Thank God it had been her and not Ladybug, because the sheer stubbornness in Marinette's eyes had made him think she might try to follow him and Ladybug was for sure more stubborn than Marinette.

"Stay closer to me, Plagg," Adrien hissed. "Or the security cameras might see you."

Plagg perched on Adrien's shoulder. "This has to end, Adrien. You have to decide who you're more afraid to be — Adrien or the black cat — because this half-way-in-and-half-way-out thing is destroying you. And I'm all about destruction, but not of my chosen one."

"Well I can't be the black cat," Adrien said. "The black cat makes me do totally stupid things. Like show up at Marinette's house uninvited."

"Which is not nearly as stupid as showing up uninvited to your dad's office."

"Roll with it, Plagg. If he catches me, it'll be my ass on the line, not yours."

"Your ass has provided me with the kind of cheese I adore!" Plagg whined.

Adrien stopped just outside his father's office. "Do you think Ladybug has these kinds of conversations with her kwami?"

"With Tikki?" Plagg said. "No, she's way classier than this."

Adrien took a deep breath.

"Except when she decides she wants to play dirty. And then she's just…incredible."

"Shh," Adrien warned. He opened the door.

Gabriel Agreste's home office was sleek, organized and well-lit. It didn't always make sense to Adrien that his father was a fashion designer. No one in such an artsy field ought to work in such a sterile environment. But he went straight for his father's computer, and as he started scrolling through the files he realized that his father's obsessive sense of order was something he ought to be very grateful for right now.

"Boring. Boring. Boring," Plagg complained as he bounced around the office checking things out. "Doesn't your father keep anything interesting in her at all?"

There was exactly one adornment in the office. It was a picture of Adrien's mother. He didn't feel like commenting on that as he found a folder called "Mentorship Program" and clicked it open. "We're not here to cause havoc, Plagg," he said. "I just need a little more detail about Marinette's schedule…"

"Boring. Boring. Shiny. Boring." Plagg landed on the top edge of Gabriel's computer. "Has anyone ever told you that you need to get a hobby?"

"I take piano, fencing, Chinese and Russian. And I model on the side. I don't have time for hobbies." He found an excel sheet with the file name "Mentee Schedule" and clicked it open. "Ah ha…here it is."

Plagg kicked the screen with his heels. "You had time to be Chat Noir."

Adrien chose not to hear that. He was too busy trying to decipher the schedule to pay attention to Plagg. His father might as well have written it in code. Adrien wasn't going to be able to tell anything useful from it, except to confirm that most nights of the program, Marinette was going to be at Agreste Tower from 4pm until at least 10pm. He printed a copy anyway. Maybe he could figure out his dad's abbreviations back in his room when he wasn't under so much pressure. There had to be some time when he could casually "stop by" Agreste Tower and not make it look obvious that he was there to see Marinette.

"Do you hear that?" Plagg said suddenly. "Isn't your dad supposed to be in the gym?"

Adrien froze. His dad almost always worked out with his personal trainer until 6:30 in the morning, when he went to his room to shower, then had breakfast. He wasn't supposed to be here in his office until quarter to seven, and there was only one door into this room. There wasn't anywhere Adrien could hide either — not in an office so spartan — and if he could hear footsteps he was screwed. Completely screwed. He dashed to the printer, hoping he could at least fold the schedule and stick it in his pocket before his father came in.

"Plagg, hide!" Adrien hissed. The door opened. Adrien shoved the page into his back pocket, and Plagg zipped behind the photo of Adelina Agreste.

Gabriel Agreste stopped abruptly in the doorway. He was dressed for his workout, but he had his cell phone in hand. "Adrien? What are you doing here?"

Adrien tried to think fast. What would be a good excuse? What was he supposed to say? What would Ladybug have said?

Gabriel walked in and looked around Adrien to where his computer was still open. "Why are you looking at the mentorship schedule, son?"

"Uh…" Adrien stammered. "I was just…"

His father went to the computer and closed it shut with a snap. "Maybe I should rephrase. Why were you looking at the schedule I'm planning for Ms. Dupain-Cheng?"

Adrien blushed. "We're friends."

His father kept a straight face. "Yes. Even I couldn't have missed that." He looked squarely at Adrien for a while and then sighed. "Adrien, you know I don't approve of the way you've cut yourself off from all your peers. If you let the ugly scoundrels that are threatening us keep you isolated like this, you let them win."

"That's not how you felt three years ago," Adrien countered, "back when you were afraid of me going to school. And you only let me out with bodyguards around."

Gabriel waved his hand. "That was then. Your mother had just disappeared. I was extremely anxious. And I told you, we never anticipated someone would go after your friends to get to me. If we had, we'd have put a security detail in place for them. We could still do that. Easily. As I recall, Mr. Gorilla was quite put out over the way you dismissed Ms. Dupain-Cheng. He'd probably volunteer personally to put together her security detail."

They'd had this discussion before, and it was always strange to Adrien. His father had been so uptight about safety after Adrien's mother disappeared. But he seemed to have gotten used to Adrien going to school, and over the summer he'd encouraged Adrien to go back to school several times. This did not make Adrien feel it was a good idea. He didn't want his friends to need a security detail just because they were close to them.

Gabriel looked critically at Adrien. "A friend of mine recommended a therapist that I'd like you to see. Starting this week."

"Are you kidding?" Adrien said. His dad didn't "kid" though. "You want me to see a therapist? But—"

"No buts, Adrien," his dad said firmly. "You are my son. There's going to be a target on your back your whole life. You cannot live closed up in this place without ever seeing anyone you care about. You need help. You will see the therapist."

This is not what Adrien had expected to come from being caught sneaking around in his dad's office. He didn't know how to respond.

His dad pursed his lips. "If you cooperate, perhaps I can also make sure you and Ms. Dupain-Cheng bump into each other at Agreste Tower every now and then during her mentorship program."

Adrien gasped. "You didn't pick Marinette just because you wanted to use her to get me back out in public, did you!?"

His father rolled his eyes. "Heavens, no. Have you seen her work? I picked her because she's the best. You agree, don't you?"

Most of the time Adrien thought his father lived above the mundane details of a teenage boy's life. Then once in a very long wile he got this "look" that made him seem about ten years younger and not at all like his father.

"Adrien?"

"I…of course I agree," Adrien said. "She's amazing."

His father nodded. "Good. Then it's a deal. I'll have Nathalie make you an appointment with the therapist, and perhaps you would like to greet Ms. Dupain-Cheng this week. She's scheduled to arrive at the Tower ten minutes before 4 on Monday."

"Really?" Adrien said, and he saw Plagg peek out from behind the photo with surprise on his face. This was a much better outcome than Adrien had anticipated.

"I want you out of this ridiculous slump," his father said. "Your mother would never have approved. And I think she _would_ have approved of Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Adrien winced at the implication and at Plagg's winking face behind his dad. Why did they both see more in his friendship with Marinette than was actually there? He couldn't deny that his feelings for Marinette may have been…slightly altered…by the events of last summer. But still…there was Ladybug…

"You barely know Marinette, dad," Adrien said.

He smirked. "But you do."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Someone wants Adrien Gibbs slapped. Ha! I think I'm going to find a way to work that in. But Adrien IS sort of clueless in canon. Guess we need him to grow up a little.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl.

* * *

Chapter 8 - A Little More Adrinette

"That's it, Tikki," Marinette said, surveying her work. "If that cat comes again, there's no way I'll miss him."

"Good job, Marinette!" Tikki said as she flew around checking things out.

"It's a good thing Alya's so resourceful," Marinette said. "I would never have known where to get a motion detector camera on my own, or an app to go with it."

She'd told Alya she thought there was an animal sneaking around on her balcony and she wanted to catch it in action because it was ruining her plants. The lie rolled smoothly off Marinette's tongue before she could figure out how she'd make it look like her plants really were taking damage. She could figure that out later, though. The motion detector was perfect for what she needed. Once it was triggered, the app was set to play a pre-recorded clip of her crying for help from inside her bedroom.

She was sure Chat wouldn't be able to resist coming inside if he thought she needed him, especially since she was going to make sure the window was propped open from now until whenever she caught him (the draft would be worth it). Her dad had helped her refit the lock on the window so that when closed, it would automatically lock. Marinette had even stuffed a pair of her pants, some shoes and one end of a shirt and arranged it on the floor at just the right angle so that Chat would be able to see the legs but not the head from the ladder. If he wanted to see more, he would have to come down enough rungs to let the window close behind him, and then he'd be locked in.

Of course, he could try to break the window trying to get out at that point, but Marinette thought that wasn't something he was likely to do. By then he'd be face-to-face with her real, awake self. She planned to sleep on a mat in a corner of the room he wouldn't be able to see until she caught him.

"There's no way he's coming back without at least talking to me, Tikki," she told her kwami. "He has to know the truth."

"So you're going to transform into Ladybug after you catch him?" Tikki asked.

"Maybe not right away," Marinette said. "But that's my end goal. I just have to make sure I don't make him too skittish. If I transform too soon, he might run. But he needs to know who I am, and he needs to know that akuma is still out there. He's vulnerable to it."

"It's a great plan, Marinette," Tikki said. "At least now you can sleep at night knowing there's something that will wake you up if he decides to drop by again."

"Yeah, and I'm going to need the sleep," Marinette said. "The _Gabriel_ program is starting Monday."

* * *

Chat did not show up Saturday or Sunday night, but Marinette got more sleep those nights than she had in a long time, and she felt refreshed as she stood in an elevator at quarter to four, heading up to the 54th floor of Agreste Tower, where she was supposed to go to meet Gabriel Agreste — in the flesh — for the first time as his new mentee. She'd met Mr. Agreste a few times as Ladybug before, and he'd seen her in person as Marinette, too. She wasn't sure he would remember her, though, and she was excited about the opportunity to work with him, despite her trepidation about this whole mentorship program…and her troubles with Chat…and Adrien….and a loose akuma…and her being a superhero and all…

Which explains why she stuttered like a loon when she stepped out of the elevator only to be greeted by Adrien himself.

"Hi Marinette," he said shyly.

And she responded with something that probably sounded a little like: "Adrien? Uh…Adrien! What are you? I mean, I'm here for you. Er. For Mr. Agreste. Who is you. But he's also your father. And I'm here for your father."

She looked away, closed her eyes briefly, and tried to get a grip. Why did she always have to make herself look like such an idiot in front of Adrien? And what was he doing here? She opened her eyes again. He was now looking at the ground with his shoulders hanging down like someone had just drowned his favorite kitten.

"I know," he said. "I'm sorry, Marinette. When I heard you were the _Gabriel_ mentee this year, I just thought…well, no one is going to think we're especially close because you and me both happen to be at Agreste Tower at the same time, you know?" He looked up at her with something in his eyes that was so fragilely hopeful it made Marinette's heart melt. His face fell anyway. "But I understand if you don't want to see me."

"No!" she said quickly, and she tried to think about what Alya would do in this situation. Wait, that was a bad idea. Alya would have yelled at Adrien for being so crazy about how he'd cut them all off. What about Nino? No…Nino would have acted like nothing at all had happened. Sheesh. What would someone normal with confidence do in this situation?

What would Ladybug have done?

She pulled herself together, walked in, and smiled at Adrien Agreste, teen super model, presumed heir to the Agreste fashion dynasty and all-around-really-nice boy-who-currently-seemed-very-sad.

"It's okay, Adrien. I'm happy to see you. I've missed you," she said. Confidently, she hoped.

Adrien's face broke into such a huge smile that it was like light breaking into the whole room. "Really?"

She thought again about what Ladybug would have done, but this time that didn't help her much, and what she wanted to do as Marinette didn't seem like a Ladybug thing to do. It was all just…Marinette. She decided to do it anyway. She took a big deep breath, went straight up to Adrien, and reached out with both arms to hug him. Totally not like a girl hugging her long-time crush who could still make it impossible for her to talk in complete sentences. Like Marinette. With someone who needed a hug.

"Really," she told him, and she felt his arms close around her like he hadn't hugged anyone in months. Which, it occurred to her as he practically _sighed_ into that hug, he probably had not.

She decided to let him choose when to cut it off, and she said "you're welcome" to her fifteen-year-old self as he extended that hug so long it started to feel a little like he might just want to stay there. At some point, his grip on her loosened, and a second later he just squeezed her tight again, like he was resetting the hug without actually stopping it to begin with.

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette turned her head.

Gabriel Agreste was standing there, watching her hug his son.

She shrieked, jumped back from Adrien and threw her bag out of her hands in the process. Adrien gracefully caught it and handed it back to her with a smile still on his face.

"Hey Dad." He pointed to her. "You know Marinette."

Marinette blushed profusely while Gabriel Agreste stepped forward and held his hand out for her to shake. "Yes, indeed. And this is a far better reason to meet than we had for our last meeting. Your work has caught my eye on a number of occasions, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. I was hoping you would apply for my program. I'm delighted to have you here."

She shook his hand timidly. "I'm…delighted to be here," she said. "Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Agreste."

He pointed to her jacket. It was black with tuxedo strips down the arms and a polka-dot lining. "Did you make that?"

She touched the jacket. "My jacket? Yes."

"From a pattern?" he asked.

"No," she said, feeling scandalized by the thought. "It's a Marinette Dupain-Cheng original. I design most of my own clothes."

"It's very good work." He gestured to the jacket. "May I?"

She blinked for two seconds, then quickly removed the jacket and handed it to him. He examined it inside and out. "French seams…beautifully ruched sleeves…a very flattering angle…but a fine silk would have been better for the lining."

"It is fine silk," she said, surprised that he couldn't tell.

He smirked in a way that made him look almost playful and handed the jacket back to her. "It's not the kind of fine silk _I'm_ talking about, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. I know exactly where to begin with you. You need to peruse my fabric collection. Then we can discuss fabric suppliers. If you want to be a designer, your materials have to be up to the quality of your workmanship. Does that sound like a good plan to you?"

"Of course," she breathed, imagining a room full of lush, colorful fabric.

Mr. Agreste nodded at Adrien. "My son has volunteered to serve as your guide this evening. He'll take you to your studio and show you around the Tower." He met Marinette's eyes with a perfectly straight face and the tiniest glint that she really hadn't thought would be possible for Gabriel Agreste. "I've already warned him that if he gets in your way, he'll be banned from the Tower and forced to see you outside work hours instead. Can I trust that you'll tell him when he's bothering you?"

Marinette's fashion idol was currently the coolest dad she'd ever met, other than her own dad. He was _sharing an inside joke_ with her. She was sure of it. The joke was "Adrien needs to get out, and this would be a good opportunity for it."

"Dad!" Adrien complained.

"Yes, absolutely, sir," Marinette said.

"Excellent," Mr. Agreste said. "Choose a few fabrics for a project you'd like to work on and we'll discuss them before you leave tonight."

"Okay," Marinette said eagerly, and Mr. Agreste nodded like that was that and then turned away to head down a hall that she assumed led to his office.

"Come on, Marinette," Adrien said, walking back to the elevator. "Let's go to your studio first. Then we'll check out the fabric collection."

"I'm so excited," she told him. "A whole room of fabric chosen by your dad. I bet it's amazing."

Adrien pushed the up button and she noticed that he did not have the ability to keep the straight face his dad could keep when he was telling a joke. "It's not a whole room."

"Huh?" she said, trying to ignore a twinge of disappointment.

He grinned at her. "It's a whole floor."

Marinette was in Agreste heaven.

* * *

Adrien thought Marinette was the cutest girl he'd ever met. Cuter even than Ladybug. Of course, Ladybug was at the very top of his list as far as gorgeous girls went. But gorgeous was different from cute, and Marinette was adorable in her pink slacks and her ballet flats and her fantastic tuxedo jacket. He missed her pigtails — she was wearing her hair in one ponytail instead — but still: cutest girl ever.

Plus, the way her eyes kept getting bigger and bigger as she took in everything he was showing her around Agreste Tower made him really want to take her somewhere he could just snuggle with her for a while. Which he decided was not creepy. But maybe he should put his mixed feelings about Marinette on his list of things he needed to discuss with the therapist his dad had lined up for him. He was pretty sure he shouldn't be in love with Ladybug and still want to take Marinette home. And was he cheating on Ladybug in a way because of this? It's not like he was thinking about kissing Marinette. Or at least, he wasn't thinking about that until right then.

He tried to focus. Big and bright aside, there were some pretty dark circles underneath Marinette's eyes, and Chloe had been right about how thin Marinette had gotten. So after he left her in a complete daze checking out the fabric collection on the 56th floor, he left the Tower to seek out his favorite Mediterranean place, where he ordered a feast of falafel, hummus, pita bread and other fantastically flavored food.

It was half past six when he returned, and he found her in her studio, just standing in the middle of the room. She'd been particularly sweet when he'd shown it to her. She'd said "my name's on the door," like she couldn't believe it. So he'd opened the door for her, handed her the keys and said, "yep, it's all yours." (Something which was also screwing with Adrien, because he'd just realized that he really really liked it when Marinette got that "who, me?" look on her face, and that also led to him thinking about kissing her, which made his walk to the falafel place very confusing.)

Apparently the thrill of having her own studio hadn't worn off yet, because he had the impression that she could stand in the middle of that room just looking at it for a really long time. Compared to the studios of the professional designers Adrien's dad employed, this one was small. But Adrien had spent a lot of time in Marinette's room, so he knew the mentee studio was at least twice as big as her room at home. Plus, the studio was decked out with all kinds of fancy tools that you'd presumably want if you were a designer.

"Are you hungry?" he asked to get her attention. "I brought dinner back. I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I got a lot of everything."

She turned to him with her eyes bugged out again. "I'm going to be spoiled by this for the rest of my life."

"I don't think anything could spoil you like that," he told her, and she smiled so warmly at him that he seriously considered setting down the hummus so he could go hug her. He waited too long, though, and before he could do it she'd tilted her head at him and said, "So how are things?"

He had wanted to ask her that himself, and he was a dummy for not thinking she might be wondering the same about him. "Uh," he said. How was he supposed to answer that? Things were crumby. He was lonely. He hated his Russian lessons. He missed Nino and the rest of his friends. He was sick of Chloe being his only tie to the real world. "They're fine," he told her. He took the Mediterranean food to a table in the corner of the room. "How about I set this up here?"

She looked skeptically at him, but came over and started helping him with the food. "Thanks for bringing dinner, Adrien. You didn't have to do that."

"We're friends and this is your first day working in my father's program," he said. He'd brought back a feast, and it was weird. He'd mostly been worried about her eating, but he hadn't had much of an appetite himself in a long time. Right now the food was making his mouth water, though. "How are things with you?" he asked and he rapidly uncovered cartons.

"They're fine," she said as she unwrapped the pita bread.

Things were not fine with her. He was sure of it. He pulled a chair up to the table, sat down, and he had no idea what made him feel like he should call her out on it, but the next words out of his mouth were: "Are you sure?"

She sat down next to him. "I'm sure that I'm just as fine as you are." It was the first time he'd ever heard such a strong a challenge in Marinette's voice. It reminded him bizarrely of Ladybug and he felt guilty for making another comparison.

He glanced at her face. It was definitely set to "stubborn." She obviously wasn't going to tell him anything about herself if she thought he was keeping his guard up around her. So he picked up a piece of pita bread, dipped it in hummus, ate a delicious bite and then said: "Well that's terrible. Because you should be doing a lot better than the level of fine I'm at these days."

She grimaced, then speared a piece of falafel with a fork and took her first bite. She looked surprised while she chewed. "You know, I've had a lot on my mind recently, and I haven't been able to eat much, but this falafel is really good." She ate another bite. "Will you tell me more about how you're actually doing if I tell you how I am?"

"Okay," he agreed. "Will you start?"

She nodded. "That seems fair." She tried the hummus while she seemed to contemplate where to start. After a while, though, she said: "I've been really busy lately. I'm excited to be here for this program, but I don't know how I'm going to fit it into my schedule. And school's been depressing because one of my good friends decided he was too afraid to come back."

Adrien blushed. "You know why I decided not to come back."

She set down her fork and frowned at him. "I know you decided it would be better to write me a note than tell me in person that you were going to protect me and everyone else by just never seeing us again."

Adrien flushed so much his ears felt hot. "It was the only way," he said a little more defensively than he thought he ought to be with Marinette. "You…and…and Nino and anyone else the media associates me with could be in danger. If you…or anyone…got hurt again because of me, I don't think I could live with myself."

Marinette was now glaring at him. "I get it, Adrien. You don't like seeing me hurt. But those two guys didn't do anything but shove me into the back of a vehicle for a couple hours."

"Only because you were lucky enough to escape," he retorted, trying to remind himself mentally that she wasn't aware that she'd been seriously hurt because of him.

"But not lucky enough for my _fake boyfriend_ not to let those cowards get to him!"

His mouth gaped open.

 _Her_ mouth snapped shut. She pushed her chair back and sighed. "I'm sorry Adrien. I know you're only trying to do the right thing, but it hurt me a lot that you decided we couldn't be friends anymore without even talking to me about it first. It's been a rough few months. I just…needed my best friends to be there for me this year. And I thought you were one of them."

She had stopped looking at him somewhere in there, and it occurred to Adrien that he'd turned this whole thing into an epic fail. She sighed again and started to stand up. He wasn't sure she'd give him another chance to talk to her, though, so he grabbed her wrist. She looked down at him with surprise.

He took a second to try to get his nerves under control. "It's been a rough few months for me, too. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you before…it's just…"

She sat again and he slid his hand down along her wrist until he was holding her hand instead.

"It _has_ been nice to see you tonight," she said softly. "And you know if there's something bothering you, you can tell me, right?"

He looked down at her palm and started tracing lines there with his thumb. There was no way he could tell her he was Chat Noir. Still, the thought of leaving their conversation like this made him feel like not finishing his chicken kabobs. Maybe it would be okay for him to confess some version of his story to someone. He hadn't thought Nino would get it, but Marinette might.

"Adrien?" she asked.

"There's someone else I hurt…" he began.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl.

* * *

Chapter 9 - Gabriel

Marinette was frozen in the most surreal moment of her life. It was an early October evening. She was in an enormous studio in Agreste Tower with her name on the door. Her window overlooked Paris with its city lights twinkling back at her. The studio was stocked with materials she'd dreamed of working with and could never have afforded herself. There were three bolts of absolutely gorgeous fabric sitting near the best sewing machine she'd ever even seen at her desk.

And Adrien Agreste was sitting with her hand in his, apologizing to her and saying, "There's someone else I hurt."

She felt like she could barely breathe as Adrien talked. What if she moved and it scared him into dashing back out of her life as suddenly as he'd popped back into it tonight?

But he was rubbing his thumb nervously back and forth across her hand, so it was all she could do to sit still as he went on.

"I knew her from outside of school. We sort of…worked together. She wasn't a model. She was more into, uh, the production side of things. But we talked a lot, and she was sort of my, erm, partner on a…a few projects. We got to know each other pretty well."

He stopped talking, but continued stroking her hand.

"What was she like?" Marinette prompted.

"You'd like her. She's creative and smart and the kind of person who always sticks up for people who need her."

His voice was reverent talking about whoever this girl was. She must have been a lot more to him than just a work colleague, and whatever happened with her had done something to him that affected him more than he realized.

"You were in love with her, weren't you?" she whispered.

Adrien looked up, met Marinette's eyes and held her gaze for so long she started questioning her own instincts. She shouldn't have said anything. Had she been wrong? But she didn't think she had.

"Yeah. I was in love with her." He let go of Marinette's hand, sat back and seemed to be considering what he'd said. "I've never admitted that to another person." He ducked his head bashfully. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have told you any of that."

She considered that. If Marinette had discovered that Adrien was in love with some other girl before everything that had happened with Chat, she probably would have been devastated. Somehow, hearing it now only made her feel like it was something sad he and she had in common.

"I know what it's like," she told him.

He smiled halfheartedly. "To be in love with someone?"

She looked away. "And to hurt someone who loves you."

He sighed. "Thanks Marinette. She…didn't feel the same way about me. I always thought maybe things would head that way. She had this whole life outside work she never wanted to let me in on. But the last few months, it seemed…"

Marinette wasn't sure if she liked this girl. She opened her mouth to say so, but he beat her to the punch.

"I know what you're thinking. It wasn't like that, though. She wasn't trying to hide something bad. It was more like she was trying to keep things professional. She thought if we knew each other more personally, that would make it harder for us to work together." He looked up earnestly at Marinette. "I was so sure she was wrong. She was an amazing par-, er, colleague. I could have trusted her with anything. And I thought she could have trusted me. I was always trying to get her to tell me more about herself, and then one day we got in a fight about it. It was bad. I…can't even remember all the terrible things I said to her during it, and when the fight was over, she ran away. She didn't want to work with me for weeks, and I haven't been able to face her since then."

"But we all hurt the people we care about sometimes, Adrien," Marinette said. "It sounds like you feel really bad for whatever you said. Have you tried apologizing to her? I bet you could fix things and at least work with her again if-"

The phone at her desk rang. She spun in her chair and hurried to get it. The caller I.D. said G. Agreste.

"Mr. Agreste?" she answered. "This is Marinette."

"Yes, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Have you chosen your fabric?" he said over the phone.

"Yes, sir."

"And are you and Adrien finished with dinner?"

Her cheeks flushed. Gabriel Agreste was far more insightful about teenage relationships than she'd anticipated, and it was unsettling how he used the same crisp, all-business voice to talk about everything, no matter what. "Uh, yes Mr. Agreste. We were just going to start cleaning up."

"Very well," Mr. Agreste said. "Tell Adrien Mr. Gorilla is outside with the car, waiting for him, and please come to my office in ten minutes with samples of the fabric you selected."

The phone clicked off before she could say "yes, sir," again.

Adrien stood up and began putting the tops back on their hummus. "Guess I have to go. Sorry about that. My dad can be kind of demanding. He's brilliant, though."

"I can't believe I'm going to be talking about fabric with my fashion icon in a few minutes," Marinette gushed. Then she remembered that Adrien had been pouring his heart out before the call and immediately felt terrible for forgetting his heartbreak so quickly. "But if you want, we can talk more later," she offered. "You could call me."

He had started tucking leftover Mediterranean into a mini-fridge she hadn't even noticed previously in the corner of her studio. "It's probably going to be a late night for you. Maybe we was can have dinner again Thursday."

"What about tomorrow?" she suggested.

"Can't." He closed the mini-fridge. "I have a Russian lesson, and I don't want to mess up your program too much."

"You're taking Russian?"

"My father is considering a move to St. Petersburg in the winter."

Marinette had a visceral reaction to that. "St. Petersburg? Isn't that kind of…far from Paris?"

Adrien shrugged. "Dad has a potential business partner there."

"And you're okay with that?"

"I don't feel safe seeing any of my friends here anymore in public. And I can't…"

She pictured Paris without Adrien. The thought made her feel empty inside. She needed to talk to him about this, but she didn't have time now. She was supposed to be in his father's office in eight minutes. "So I'll see you Thursday?"

He nodded. "Sure. We can do sushi."

* * *

Plagg popped out of Adrien's messenger bag the second they were outside Agreste Tower. "You just told the girl you're completely obsessed with that you're in love with another girl. You realize that, right?"

Adrien let Plagg fly wildly around him. He was disheartened, for so many reasons, and it kind of felt good to know his kwami was agitated, too. He had not wanted to tell Marinette anything about Ladybug. He had not expected Marinette to be so… _Ladybug_ about getting him to talk. He had also not expected her hand to feel so right in his that he'd kept it there far too long. Maybe that was why he'd told her so much? Or maybe it was something about her eyes, and how big they'd been watching him.

"That can't happen again, Plagg. I was supposed to be finding out if she was okay, not telling her how _not_ okay I am. I shouldn't go back Thursday."

Plagg flew by his side. "Are you joking? You should cancel tomorrow's Russian lesson so you can see Marinette again sooner. You haven't talked so much to anyone since Marinette was in the hospital."

"You like seeing my life spiral into chaos," Adrien complained. "It is not okay for me to be talking to Marinette, of all people, about Ladybug. I have an appointment with a therapist later in the week. If I need to talk to someone, I can talk to him."

Plagg crossed his arms indignantly. "So what if I like seeing a little chaos in your life? I bet it was so boring before you met me. Anyway, I have an interest in you living up to your miraculous, I'm an immortal miraculous myself, and I know some things about things. Marinette makes you talk. She is good for you. Maybe if you go back tomorrow you'll end up confessing you're Chat Noir to her, and she can convince you that you're being a dummy about this whole-"

They turned a corner and came into sight of Gorilla waiting by the car. Adrien shushed his kwami. His Russian tutor was there too. What the hell was she doing at Agreste Tower? Was she _yelling_ at Gorilla? And was it just him, or did her hair look kind of messed up?

"I'm telling you his lesson was today!" he heard Larisa shout as he got closer. "If you don't tell me where he is, I will call Gabriel Agreste immediately and report his son missing!"

Gorilla was a solid dude. He was leaning against the car, looking at Larisa like she was a yappy dog. His arms were crossed so tight that any idiot would have noticed the solid muscle bulging out of them. His partner — an equally solid dude — was sitting in the passenger seat in the car, watching the interaction like it was a bad movie.

Larisa was not any idiot, though. She was a special idiot. She screwed up her face and clenched her fists. "Where. Is. Adrien. Agreste?" she just about screamed.

Gorilla noticed Adrien and his face twitched enough for Adrien to read, "sir, this woman is insane," in it.

"Hey Larisa," he said as he approached. "Are you looking for me? We weren't supposed to have a lesson today, remember? You canceled so you could help your boyfriend move his couch?" (Adrien still had the text on his phone. He'd rolled his eyes several times at her excuse. Larisa was probably allergic to manual labor.)

She spun on her heels. There was a mighty glare on her face, but as soon as she seemed to realize it was him, she plastered a tight smile over it instead.

"Mr. Agreste. Hello. I'm sure our lesson was today. Where were you?"

He pulled out his phone, scrolled through his text messages and then showed her the very clear message he'd gotten from her canceling the lesson.

"Maybe you forgot," he suggested.

Gorilla reached for his earpiece and turned away from them like he was getting a message.

"Is something wrong?" Larisa asked quickly.

Gorilla held up a hand while he listened, then set it down. "Nothing important," he said with a straight face. He opened the door for Adrien. "Sir?"

Adrien slid into the car and noticed that Gorilla blocked Larisa from getting anywhere near the door herself, then shut the door quickly and locked the car.

"Excuse me, miss," he said to Larisa then and he came around to the driver's side with no extra ceremony, manually unlocked just the driver's door, and then quickly slammed the door shut once he was in. They drove off, leaving Larisa steaming at the ears on the curb.

"What's going on, Gorilla?" Adrien asked as soon as they were driving.

"Sorry, sir," Gorilla said. "Someone triggered the alarm systems at the house today."

"You mean someone broke in?"

Gorilla frowned and looked up at his rear view mirror. He was not looking at Adrien. "Yes. Nothing was taken, but..."

Adrien twisted to see if he could still see Larisa on the street. "You think she did it?"

"I think you need a new Russian tutor, sir," Gorilla said.

* * *

Gabriel Agreste had several pictures of his wife, Adelina, that he looked at whenever he needed to remember that there was something good in the universe. After she'd disappeared, he'd sometimes felt as if all the color that had been in his world had faded with her. She'd made his world so beautiful.

He was angry at her, though. Whatever had happened, wherever she'd gone, she'd done it knowingly leaving behind her miraculous. He found the peacock brooch on his pillow the night she vanished, with a note that said, "Pride is the deadliest sin. I love you, Gabe. Don't look for me. Take care of Adrien." Why would she ever have gone out on some mission without her miraculous? Why wouldn't she have told him what was going on? It was a mystery he had long tried to solve, but with no success so far.

Gabriel was not cut out to be a superhero of any kind himself. His tastes were for art, fashion and rare bottles of wine. He worked out in a home gym on a treadmill from which he had the same exact view of his well-manicured courtyard every single day. He'd built his mansion like a fortress so he could sleep well at night. He took a small dose of Xanax before he ever flew anywhere, and he only trusted a few pilots. He sometimes thought that if Adelina had told him she was a superhero before he'd fallen in love with her, he would have broken up with her to save his own skin. He had no idea what she'd seen in his cantankerous self.

Adrien was exactly like his mother.

It had been an incredibly sore spot between them for a long time after Adelina was gone. Gabriel wanted Adrien to stay safe and sound at home. Adrien wanted to go to public school. Gabriel wanted Adrien to avoid people who would want him to go out and have fun. Adrien wanted friends. Gabriel wanted Adrien to be a pampered male model. Adrien preferred a magic super suit to the Agreste fashion line.

Really, when Gabriel had finally noticed the ring of the black cat on his son's hand, he'd been sick to his stomach. As if things couldn't get worse! The black cat miraculous? His son had been chosen for _that_? One of the two most powerful miraculouses? The one that represented _chaos and destruction_? Why couldn't he have gotten the elephant watch instead? That miraculous was all about helping people remember things they'd forgotten, and Gabriel thought his son needed to be reminded of a few basic lessons!

He knew better than to think he could stop a miraculous holder from doing their miraculous thing, though, and after a year or so of watching stories about Ladybug and Chat Noir appear on the news, he'd decided that at least his son had gotten a smart Ladybug. He started immediately trying to figure out who she was. So far, he hadn't figured out who she was, but that didn't make him trust her any less. Actually, it made him trust her more, and when he started learning to trust his son, too, things got better between them. There might even have been a few months there when things had been good. They'd had a few dinners that weren't completely silent.

Then something happened that scared Adrien so much he didn't want to be Chat Noir anymore, and that was when Gabriel learned exactly how much he loved his son and his wife. Because it seemed to Gabriel Agreste that when Adrien stopped transforming to be Chat Noir, it was like putting away the side of him that was all the best parts of Adelina and putting on the side of him that was all the worst parts of Gabriel. Adrien turned from being adventurous, passionate, energetic and courageous to being reclusive, anxious, paranoid and scared. It was horrible. Gabriel never wanted to see himself in Adrien like that. That was not how things were supposed to be.

Thus, Gabriel found himself facing a challenge he never thought he'd have to face: how to inspire his son to want to be a superhero again?

Luckily, no matter how ill-suited Gabriel himself would have been to hold a miraculous, he did have a few things going for him. Namely, he was extremely intelligent and he had a lot of money. (He was also incredibly handsome, but that particular trait wasn't something he thought would help him with his Adrien/Chat Noir challenge.) Once he realized how far Adrien had slipped away from the person he was supposed to be, Gabriel started taking subtle action to change things.

He couldn't let Adrien know what he was up to. Adrien didn't know his father had figured his secret out, and Gabriel thought it would be best to keep it that way for now. After all, there was no way he could explain how he knew about Adrien's miraculous without explaining Adelina's miraculous, and Gabriel was sure Adrien would want to set out immediately to try to find Adelina once he learned about that. Whoever had come for Adelina was extraordinarily dangerous, though. Adrien was going to need to be in peak shape to face that. Now was not the time.

So instead of confronting Adrien, Gabriel started by simply encouraging Adrien to spend time with his school friends. He even begrudgingly allowed Adrien to invite them over to the mansion. He knew the scardy-chat thing had started after Marinette Dupain-Cheng had some kind of run-in with an akumatized villain that landed her in the hospital. Adrien visited the girl in the hospital every day, and it always seemed like he came back from those visits more positive. So when she got out, Gabriel especially encouraged Adrien to go to things Marinette would be at.

His plan backfired when the idiots threatening him and Adrien decided to threaten Marinette instead. Adrien shut himself off even more after that, cutting himself off from his friends and refusing to return to school. Gabriel decided to switch tactics and try some reverse psychology in response. If Adrien wanted to be home-schooled again, that was fine, but Gabriel chose tutors he knew would be especially difficult. When Adrien barely even seemed to notice how hard the lessons were becoming, Gabriel came up with threatening the move to Russia. He thought that idea was genius. Surely Adrien wouldn't want to leave Paris behind? Surely that threat would make him dig in his heels and want to step up as Chat Noir again? And surely the air-headed tutor Gabriel hired to teach Adrien Russian would annoy Adrien enough to make him beg for mercy? But it didn't work. None of it worked. Adrien was apparently just as stubborn as Gabriel, too.

Therapy with someone Gabriel truly trusted to help his son was another option. It was a little risky. If Adrien figured out the miraculous connection that way, he'd be back to asking about Adelina. But Gabriel felt it was necessary. It was a lucky turn of events that he could use Marinette as bait for Adrien, too. She'd become the _Gabriel_ mentee based solely on her portfolio, but Gabriel had been thrilled to catch Adrien sneaking around his office looking for information about the girl. That had to be a sign that he was thinking about rejoining the outside world. And sure enough, it barely took any effort on Gabriel's part at all to arrange to have Adrien come to the office with him the first day of the mentee program - in exchange for Adrien agreeing to see the therapist Gabriel had lined up for him.

On Monday, Gabriel had been extremely pleased with how all that was working out.

Then on Tuesday, Marinette called in sick. On Wednesday, she showed up to make up the time, but left an hour early without explaining why. On Thursday she was two hours late, and she missed the time she would have spent having dinner with Adrien! Plus, the project Gabriel had asked her to finish wasn't complete. She came to tell him in person. Gabriel was so stunned, he simply said, "Let us hope next week goes better for you, shall we Miss Dupain-Cheng?" and the poor girl had slunk out of his office with tears falling down her face.

Now it was Friday, and Gabriel was looking at a note that said:

 _Dear Mr. Agreste,_

 _I am so grateful for the opportunity you gave me to work with you as the Gabriel Mentee. I am sincerely sorry for how I failed you this week. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that next week will go better for me. I have some outside commitments that I can never cancel, and I do not want you to waste your time on me. Therefore, I will not be returning._

 _My deepest apologies,_

 _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

He set the note down and pondered the document he'd been looking at before his receptionist had delivered the note to him. It was his list of possible Ladybug candidates. He had never noticed before — her name was so close to the bottom of the list — but there it was anyway. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Possible Ladybug number 482.

But Marinette had outside commitments she couldn't cancel. Marinette's hospitalization had been preceded by some interaction with Chat Noir that the media had barely covered. Marinette had escaped from those thugs that had kidnapped her in a few hours, _by herself_. And Marinette had a connection with Gabriel's son that had left him looking like a lost puppy as he'd waited for her alone in his studio with sushi carryout.

Gabriel almost couldn't believe the connection he was making, but he suddenly knew, without a doubt, that he'd figured it out.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Yikes, it's been a long time! And this chapter was really difficult to write. I'm not sure why. It just didn't sound right the first (several) times, and then suddenly the third part, from Gabriel's perspective, came to me and everything all clicked together. Hope you enjoy. And hope I can get you another chapter a little faster!

If you are looking for something while you wait, I highly recommend It Was You by Lunar-L. (I don't consider this an excuse, but I have to admit that I waited for those updates like a mildly crazy person. It's a Marichat story, whereas this is more Adrien-focused, so Lunar got to do a lot more focus on Chat. But Lunar's Chat is such an adorably romantic boy that it really messed with my ability to write an angsty Adrien. Lunar - if you happen to read this, you should know that I cannot follow your sequel until I finish Mend. Alas, I simply cannot be in love with your Chat while I'm busy crafting my own Adrien. I'll be loyal after that, though!)


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl.

* * *

Chapter 10 - The Therapist

Master Fu Shoushan, whose Parisian friends called him Samuel Fu, was 189 years, give or take a few. Over the decades, he'd been a wushu fighter, a poet, a teacher, a ladies' man, a kama sutra guru, a motivational speaker and an alternative medicine healer. He was also the guardian of the miraculouses, and the oldest living miraculous holder.

When one of his favorite young miraculous heroes had introduced Gabriel Agreste to him as her boyfriend, all Master Fu could think was that the poor boy had a stick so far up his you-know-what that he was never going to conquer the kama sutra. He advised Adelina to find another boyfriend. She laughed at him and said, "I can't, Master Fu. I'm in love with this one." Then she married the boy.

For years, Gabriel thought Master Fu was a therapist, and Master Fu got to know Gabriel as a businessman and as Adelina's husband. They were not close. When Adelina disappeared, Master Fu was devastated. He was also extremely surprised to learn that Gabriel had figured out Adelina was a miraculous holder and that he had also discovered that Master Fu had a connection to the miraculouses. Gabriel blamed Master Fu for Adelina's disappearance. As Master Fu blamed himself for the tragedy, there was little he could do to defend himself. Gabriel told Master Fu he didn't ever want him coming anywhere near his family again.

Sometimes Master Fu thought Plagg had chosen Adrien Agreste to be the next Chat Noir to screw with him and Gabriel Agreste both.

In any case, Master Fu was not on good terms with Gabriel Agreste, so he was quite stunned when he received a call from Gabriel asking for help with Adrien. Master Fu had agreed immediately. He had also promised Gabriel that he wouldn't reveal to Adrien that either he or Gabriel knew anything about Adrien's Chat Noir identity. But Master Fu had been meeting with Marinette/Ladybug for years now, and, frankly, Gabriel Agreste still had a stick up his ass.

When Master Fu's door opened at 1pm on Saturday, right on time for Adrien's appointment, and a young man with Gabriel's build and Adelina's beautiful eyes crept shyly into the room, Master Fu said, "Hello, Chat Noir."

He had been waiting for the black cat a long time.

* * *

Adrien hadn't had a wonderful week. Ladybug had been busy with three akumitized villains. He'd watched the news coverage of her fights with the villains, and each time she looked more and more tired to him. He was scared for Ladybug, and he kind of wanted to talk to someone about it. By Thursday, he was even considering (lightly considering) the possibility of confessing to Marinette. Plagg was all about the idea. He thought Adrien needed someone to confide in. But Adrien thought maybe he'd see how things went for them over sushi — after all, he'd hardly learned anything about what was going on with Marinette when he'd seen her earlier in the week — and then she hadn't shown up! All he got was a text message Friday afternoon, almost a full day later. It said: "Sorry Adrien. I'm not going to be back. Stay safe." Like she was saying _goodbye_.

He got up at dawn Saturday morning so that he could catch his dad in the gym and find out what was going on. His dad was already on a treadmill. Adrien got onto the treadmill next to him, started it up, and said, "Marinette texted me last night. Did she ever make it in Thursday evening?"

Gabriel looked straight forward and didn't slow down.

Adrien punched up the speed on the treadmill. He felt like he had energy to burn. "She did, didn't she?" he said while he started jogging. "She's dealing with some kind of emergency at home that she doesn't feel comfortable talking about, and it made her late, and you yelled at her, didn't you?" Adrien was getting worked up as he thought about how that might have gone. He pictured Marinette tiptoeing into his dad's office and knocking timidly on the door. He could only imagine the horrible things his dad might have said to her after that. And his dad's unwillingness to talk to him about it now just about confirmed it. "She's my friend, dad!" Adrien said. "How could you!?"

Gabriel slowed to a walk, grabbed a towel and wiped off his neck. "She made it in, but I didn't yell at her, Adrien. She decided to quit on her own."

Adrien stopped his treadmill entirely. "What?"

Gabriel stopped too. "She quit. She sent me an email yesterday to tell me."

Adrien's mouth dropped. "What? But…but fashion design is Marinette's dream! This was her dream internship. She deserved the spot. She's…she's amazing…at design..."

"I believe we have already established that I am aware of her talent." His dad frowned. "I was surprised she had decided to leave the program, myself."

"You can't let her quit, then," Adrien urged. "We have to talk to her."

"I can't make her participate in the program, Adrien. She was absent most of the week. I can't force her to come back. She made a decision that she thinks is the responsible one."

"Then…then…"

Gabriel stepped off his treadmill. "If you feel this strongly about it, go talk to her. You'll probably have to meet her in person, somewhere she's comfortable. Maybe her house. Or the school." His dad was keeping a straight face, but Adrien knew he was perfectly aware that showing up at Marinette's house or, worse, at school, was exactly what Adrien was trying to avoid. That was the perfect way to set off rumors and put Marinette back in the center of the Agreste drama.

"Isn't your first appointment with the therapist today?" his dad had asked then, and it felt like he was hinting strongly that Adrien ought to use the session to get over his fear of being seen in public with his friends.

"Yeah," Adrien said.

"Then maybe you could ask Mr. Gorilla to take you by Marinette's house later," his dad suggested.

Adrien grunted in response.

* * *

Compared to showing up at Marinette's house, showing up at a therapist's office was hardly scary at all. Adrien went hoping that maybe the therapist really would be able to help him. He was expecting to focus his session on his Marinette problem. He was not expecting to talk about his miraculous problem. When the therapist greeted him with "hello, Chat Noir," Adrien almost went out the way he'd come in. The wrinkled old man sitting on a mat in the middle of a mostly empty room knew he was Chat Noir. That was…all kinds of wrong.

"You know who I am?" Adrien had said dumbly.

"I know Plagg," the man said. "And I know I gave you the black cat's ring."

"I thought I was coming to a therapy session," Adrien said weakly.

"Yes, that's what your father expected as well," the man said. "But I like to defy expectations. My name is Master Fu. Would you like a cup of tea before we begin?"

Adrien's eyes darted around the room. A tall window splashed sunlight across bamboo flooring. There was a single bookshelf against the wall behind Master Fu, along with a chest on which an old record player was sitting. Or maybe it was older than a record player, Adrien thought, because it had a funny wide horn attached to it. There was incense burning on a low coffee table and Master Fu was sipping a cup of tea.

It didn't look like a super villain's lair.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Adrien said.

"Why don't you ask Plagg?" Master Fu answered, at which Plagg stuck his head out of Adrien's messenger bag and then popped out entirely and flew around the room.

"Hey, Shoushan," Plagg said as he hovered over the coffee table, then flitted by the window. He stopped by the record player and examined it for a while. "Nice new digs."

Master Fu smiled broadly. "It's been a long time, Plagg."

Plagg flew back to Adrien and hovered in front of his nose. "You should have told me your therapist was Fu Shoushan."

"I didn't know," Adrien said. "And how do you know each other?"

"Oh, we've been friends for a long time now," Master Fu said cryptically. He stood up and shuffled to a side cabinet, where an electric water kettle was sitting next to several boxes of tea. He bent down slowly, opened the cabinet and got out a tea cup. Then he dug through a box of tea bags. "Let me see…" He plucked a tea bag out and held it up. "Ah ha. Ginseng tea. Very good for mental function."

Plagg flew over to check it out. "Adrien definitely needs that."

"It's also good for erectile dysfunction," Master Fu said like he was agreeing.

Plagg snickered.

"I'm not here for that!" Adrien yelped, but Master Fu had already poured water over the tea bag and was walking the tea back to Adrien. He handed the cup to him, then gestured to the mat on the floor.

"Please, sit, Chat Noir," Master Fu said. "Let's talk about what you _are_ here for."

Adrien sat down reluctantly with the tea, unsure of where to begin or whether he should try the tea.

Master Fu sat down as well. "I should mention that everything you say to me here will remain confidential. I'm not exactly a therapist, but for your purposes, I believe I may be able to serve as an even better guide. The black cat has been notably absent from Paris for a long time now. You realize this leaves Ladybug almost entirely on her own to fight Paris's darkest villains, do you not?"

Adrien's stomach didn't feel very good. "Yes. I know. She's by herself. Mostly. She still has-"

"A few of the other miraculous holders?" Master Fu said. "Yes, we are out there. But none of us have the powers Ladybug and Chat Noir possess, and we certainly can't compete with what you can do together. For the most difficult fights, Ladybug is alone if you are not with her." He picked his own cup of tea back up from the nearby coffee table, and, while he was turned, said, "And how does that make you feel, Chat Noir?"

"Terrible," Adrien said truthfully. "Nauseous. I hate the thought of her fighting by herself."

"Then why aren't you with her?" Master Fu said delicately as he turned back and calmly began sipping his tea again.

"Because I'm more afraid-" Adrien stopped. He was more afraid of her getting hurt because of him. Or worse, of him hurting her himself. Again. But he couldn't think about the possibility that she would get hurt because he wasn't out there with her. He'd had nightmares of bad things happening to her because she was alone. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Ask him about Marinette," Plagg suggested.

"Marinette?" Master Fu said. "Pretty name."

Adrien looked into his tea. There was steam rising from the cup. "She's one of my best friends. Or at least she was one of my best friends. Before she got hurt because of me as Chat Noir. And then again because of me as Adrien. And now…I don't know…she doesn't seem well. I'm worried about her. I think something's going on with her, but I don't know what it is."

"Have you tried talking to her?"

"He's barely willing to see her," Plagg said for Adrien. "But they got together last week, and it was all take-out food and staring into each other's eyes and hand-holding…"

"Plagg," Adrien muttered. "It wasn't like that."

Master Fu's eyes sparkled with mirth. "So you feelings for this…Marinette…go beyond friendship?"

"Maybe," Adrien admitted while guilt and discomfort churned in his stomach.

"You seem uncomfortable with that. Is Marinette seeing someone else?"

Adrien shook his head.

"Does your father dislike her?"

Adrien shook his head again.

"Is there some other reason you shouldn't be allowed to have feelings for Marinette?"

Adrien sighed. "It's…no…as Adrien, the only reason I should stay away from Marinette is that I don't want to put her in any more harm. But I think maybe she was angry at me for trying to protect her that way, so maybe I'm being…a little extreme worrying about her so much. Just…it's not that simple…"

"Ahh. Then your discomfort is more Chat Noir's problem?"

There was something about the way Master Fu said that that made Adrien think twice about the statement. "Actually, it's _not_ more Chat Noir's problem," he said slowly. "But that is sort of the problem. Because I, Adrien, _am_ Chat Noir. We're the same person. And I'm…well…I love Ladybug. A lot. Even if she only wants to know me as Chat Noir. So I shouldn't want to kiss Marinette."

"But you do anyway?" Master Fu said with just the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

Adrien took a long breath and nodded. He was even sicker now than he had been before. "So Ladybug's out fighting alone because it's too dangerous for me to fight with her, and I'm practically _cheating_ on her."

Plagg made a sound like he was blowing a raspberry. "Kid, Ladybug wanted to keep your relationship mask-to-mask. She never wanted to know the real you, and she wouldn't let you know the real her. It's not cheating on her if you're moving on to someone else."

Adrien felt dizzy. "But I don't _want_ to move on to someone else. I don't know _how_ to move on to someone else."

"Try the tea," Master Fu said gently. "Ginseng tea is calming for the stomach, as well." He stood up again and went to his bookshelf. Then he returned to the mat with an old book with a plain blue cover and yellowing edges.

"What's that?" Adrien asked.

"There have been many black cats, Adrien." Master Fu tapped the old book. "This is the journal of another black cat. I became a miraculous holder myself many years after Plagg met him, and by the time he and I became friends, he had faced many demons. Including something similar to what you're going through." He began to hand the book over, but Plagg swooped over to sit on top of it. In an instant, Plagg had turned more serious than Adrien had ever seen him before.

"No," the kwami said fiercely to Master Fu, without a trace of humor in his voice. "Adrien can't read that."

"Miraculous holders journal their experiences to help others who will follow in their footsteps, Plagg," Master Fu said. "You know that."

" _No_ ," Plagg repeated. "If you want him to know how other black cats have struggled to learn the identity of their Ladybugs, give him Timothy's journal first. Or Francois's. But not Antoine's."

Master Fu hesitated.

"I'm a lot older than you, Fu Shoushan," Plagg warned. "Don't make me do something to force the issue."

Adrien had never even thought of Plagg that way before. How old was his kwami? "Who was Antoine, Plagg?" he said. "Why don't you want me to read his journal?"

Plagg turned back to look at Adrien. He stared hard for a moment, then he groaned. "I'm only telling you this because I don't want you reading the journal and I know you're going to pester me until you know why. I was with Antoine for decades, and he was one of my favorite black cats. I liked him even more than I like you. But—"

"But what?" Adrien prompted.

"Antoine went through most of his life without his Ladybug," Plagg said. "They'd been working together for about five years when they had The Fight."

He said "the fight" like it was miraculous terminology for something.

"The fight?"

Plagg rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yeah. The fight where the black cat finally gets fed up with the ladybug over the whole secret identity thing. It's always Tikki's fault. She's the ladybug kwami. We had _one_ secret identity reveal go wrong _thousands_ of years ago, and ever since then she's been all 'it has to happen at the right time, Plagg' and 'they have to be ready.' She always tells her Ladybug that something terrible will happen if you learn each other's secret identities." Plagg laughed. "But mostly, the terrible thing that happens is The Fight itself, and then the black cat and the ladybug get together — sometimes just as friends, but lots of times as more — and that means Tikki has to spend years of quality time with me."

"I don't understand," Adrien said. "Why wouldn't you have told me that before?"

"Because I'm not completely irresponsible, Adrien." Plagg huffed. "It isn't good for you to think you can just reveal your secret identity whenever you want, and anyway, I like the surprise of waiting to see when it happens naturally. But with Antoine, it never happened at all. His fight with his ladybug was especially bad, and when it was over, she left in tears and told him to stay away from her. So he did. They started fighting solo instead of as partners. He always thought they'd get back together, but she was killed in a battle before they could reconcile. He only found out who she was then, and he spent the rest of his life feeling that her death was his fault. It didn't matter how many times I reminded him she was the one who told him to stay away. He was sure that if he'd just refused to leave her side, she wouldn't have been killed."

Adrien was horrified. He looked at Master Fu. "Is that why you wanted me to read the journal? Did you think it would scare me enough to want to help Ladybug again? But I already know how bad it is that she's fighting alone. What I'm afraid of is that I'm going to make the risk of something awful happening to her even worse if I do fight with her."

"Sometimes we don't know how much the people we care about need us, too, Adrien." Master Fu handed the book to him, ignoring Plagg's scowl. "I can't tell you who you should love, or how you should handle having feelings for both Marinette and Ladybug. But you obviously care about them both. Antoine cared deeply about his Ladybug, and he unfortunately had many years to reflect on what his life was like once she was out of it entirely. Maybe he has something to say that will help you."

Adrien took the book with a feeling of dread. He didn't want to read a journal about someone just like him who'd lost the person he needed most.

Plagg tapped his knee. "I don't like this, but if you decide to read it, I'll read it with you," he offered, and Adrien realized that he'd never known before how much Plagg looked out for him. Maybe Plagg had more wisdom than Adrien realized.

"Thanks, Plagg," he said.

"You can thank me with Camembert cheese," Plagg said grouchily.

* * *

Sabine Cheng was an easy-going, generally cheerful person. Even when she was stressed — as she was now about her daughter — she always tried to see the positive in things. But it was a little difficult for her to see the positive in the situation she'd walked into from the kitchen this morning when she heard a ruckus going on in the bakery.

Her loving husband had Gabriel Agreste pinned to the wall between a rack of bread and a massive macaroon display, and he was shouting.

"How dare you come in here thinking you're going to give my daughter a talking-to because she quit your fancy-pants program! You have some nerve thinking you're important enough to do that! Why, I ought to smash your nose in, you son of a-"

"Tom!" Sabine yelled. "Drop him!"

Tom turned to look at her like he was totally stunned, and she must have looked as angry as she felt because his fist — which had contained quite a bit of Gabriel Agreste's probably very expensive shirt — opened and Mr. Agreste almost collapsed.

"Sabine," Tom said indignantly. "This jerk millionaire came here thinking he was going to talk to Marinette-"

Sabine looked at Gabriel Agreste dusting flour off his shirt — probably from Tom's hands. With his clothes disheveled and a look of awe in his eyes, he bore a striking resemblance to Adrien Agreste. Although with Adrien, the look of awe usually had something to do with a new pastry she or Tom had baked up. He probably wouldn't have recognized Tom-the-angry-father-assaulting-his-own-father. _Sabine_ barely recognized that man.

"Are you okay, Mr. Agreste?" she said politely. "My apologies for my husband's behavior. We've all been under a lot of stress here lately. How can we help you?"

Gabriel eyed Tom, but seemed to recover quickly. "Thank you Ms. Cheng," he said. "I do think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding here. Mr. Dupain seems to think I'm here to scold your talented daughter. To the contrary, I was hoping to talk to you and your husband. I'd like your help persuading Marinette to return to the mentorship program, and I believe there is a way we can help each other with another problem."

"How could we possibly help each other?" Tom scoffed. "What, do you need an eight-foot sugar sculpture for some party?"

"I was hoping we could help each other in a more-" Gabriel cleared his throat "-personal sense."

Tom shot a look at Sabine and she could tell he was two seconds from picking up Gabriel Agreste and shoving him out the door. "Mr. Agreste, if you could just get to your point," she said. "We have quite a few large orders to handle this morning, and my daughter isn't available to help, so I'm afraid we're a set of hands short."

"Of course. I'll get right to it, Ms. Cheng," Gabriel said politely. "I thought perhaps the three of us could chat about something I believe we have in common. You see, my son has a…shall we say… _miraculous_ ability to make me worry about him, and it has recently come to my attention that your daughter is also quite… _miraculous_."

Tom's already large eyes bulged out as Sabine froze in place. "I don't think we understand, Mr. Agreste."

"Perhaps you could call me Gabriel," he said. "And I think you do understand. After all, you are aware that Marinette is Ladybug, aren't you?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So I think after that therapy appointment, Adrien might be ready to go see Marinette. That's gotta be the easier thing to do than to go home and read that journal, right? (Anyway, I HAVE to start writing fast again. This thing needs to be done before Season 2 starts, or it will be obsolete! And I have no idea how many chapters it's supposed to be!)


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl.

* * *

 **Chapter 11 - A Change of Heart**

Marinette should have known it would go this way. The twenty minutes she'd spent soaking in Gabriel Agreste's knowledge of silk suppliers was practically a religious experience for her. Mr. Agreste talked about fabric the way Marinette's father talked about pastry. She had the impression that there wasn't anything he didn't know, and that he'd spent a lifetime cultivating his extensive knowledge. But she only made it to Tuesday before she had to feign food poisoning so that she could get away from Agreste Tower early, transform into Ladybug, and fight an akumatized toddle terrorizing the streets of Paris. It was almost midnight before she'd broken the child's teething ring, and she was tired Wednesday, but Mr. Agreste asked her to come in to make up the time. She did, but then she had to leave an hour early when she got an alert that a college freshman was threatening to turn Paris into a fiery inferno over an impossible chemistry assignment.

Thursday she got to Agreste Tower just in time to have to turn around and handle an akumatized trash collector. She never made it to sushi with Adrien because she smelled like trash when she was done with all that, and she had to go home and shower. She had never felt more ashamed than she did standing in Gabriel Agreste's office later that night and telling him that the single project he'd asked her to work on — a simple dress — wasn't even done. He seemed stunned, and she left in tears, knowing she was going to have to resign and that it would mean she wouldn't see Adrien again anytime soon. She cried herself to sleep that night.

"I need a partner, Tikki," she sobbed.

"I know," Tikki said.

On top of everything, she was behind with her classes and the bakery was getting a ton of extra orders that she wasn't able to help her parents with. She was at her absolute wits' end by Friday. After finally pressing "send" on an email to Gabriel Agreste that she'd never wanted to send, she was too upset to eat dinner and too tired to cry. She went to her room and fell asleep with her clothes on, only to be woken up early Saturday morning to an alert on her news feed that said a bad karaoke singer was holding hostage the panel of the popular new show, Who's Got Any Talent? She delayed a lot longer than she should have getting her spots on that morning, and it was hard to hurry to the scene.

Marinette had never been more happy to see anyone than she was when she arrived at the TV studio and found a blond girl in a yellow-and-black-stripped super suit there, with her arm around a crying akumatized karaoke singer.

"Honey, believe me. The only person who needs to think you have an amazing voice is you! Who cares what that stupid panel thinks? None of them can sing anyway."

"Queen Bee," Marinette said in relief.

Her friend looked up at her and winked. "Hey, look who came to see you?" she said to the singer. "Are you ready for your performance?"

The singer wiped her eyes, sniffed and said, "Hi, Ladybug." Then she stood, picked up a microphone that had been sitting next to her, and said, "For you, I'm going to sing one of my favorites."

"Oh, uh, okay," Marinette said. She went over to Queen Bee and sat down next to her. "Go ahead, I guess."

Then she and Queen Bee cheered the girl through the worst rendition of Titanium Marinette had ever heard, at the end of which, Queen Bee called out, "Remember what I told you about how to end that song with star power!"

"Right!" the singer said, and she held out the microphone. "Mic drop!"

The microphone fell hard and cracked, and a purple akuma flew out.

"Easy as pie," Queen Bee whispered while Marinette quickly captured the akuma, and they both refrained from giggling until the karaoke singer had regained her senses and the television production team had headed home.

Queen Bee was one of five miraculous holders that had been given their miraculouses by Master Fu after Ladybug and Chat Noir had come onto the scene in Paris. Marinette knew Master Fu thanks to a meeting Tikki had arranged for her after she'd found an ancient and very valuable book about the origin of the miraculouses, but Master Fu was another secret she'd kept from Chat Noir. "Until it's safe for you to share all of your miraculous secrets with your partner, I suggest you share none," Master Fu had said to her once, and Tikki had firmly agreed.

Of the five new miraculous holders, Queen Bee was the only one that lived in Paris with Ladybug and Chat Noir. The others had spread out across Europe, and Marinette hadn't even met all of them. But Queen Bee made herself hard to ignore.

"Want to go back to my place?" Queen Bee asked when the karaoke madness had ended. "You and Tikki can recharge in my room while I order room service for us for lunch."

Queen Bee didn't know Ladybug's identity, but she never asked and she was always really good about giving Marinette privacy when Tikki needed to regain her energy.

"Thanks," Marinette said. "And thanks for coming this morning. I know you usually work solo."

"Well, I hardly need the help with what I do," Queen Bee said. "But you seem off your game, and this vic was in my wheelhouse."

She was right. Most of Queen Bee's work involved talking to people who were vulnerable to Hawk Mouth because they were feeling bad about themselves. She was especially good at helping young women with self-image problems.

Which was funny, because Marinette did know Queen Bee's identity, and…

"BT-dubs, I expect all the deets on Chat, Ladybug, because I am dying over Adrien, and I won't feel good about complaining if I don't let you have a turn."

"Okay, Chloé," Marinette said. "That sounds like a fair trade."

* * *

A visit with Chloé/Queen Bee always left Marinette feeling mildly confused. It had been disorienting to discover that Chloe had been chosen by one of the miraculouses, even if that miraculous was a very self-righteous little thing.

"Just pretend that she's prettier than I am," Tikki had advised, "And we'll all get along just fine."

It had taken Marinette some time to get used to Chloé's nice side, though, and even longer before she'd realized that Chloé's big problem was her own self-confidence. Somewhere beneath all that perfect hair and pastel lipstick was a girl who was never sure if her friends liked her for her or her daddy's money and power. Also, her mother had left her and her dad years before for another man. Chloé still saw her, but not often, and the way she talked about her mom now made Marinette think their relationship wasn't very close. But Chloé adored Ladybug, and truthfully, becoming friends with Chloé had been a lot easier than Marinette had expected. Chloé didn't even care that Ladybug knew who she was.

"Of course you do," she'd said. "I'm, like, your biggest fan. You probably know all kinds of things about me."

Chloé was the only person other than Tikki who knew about Ladybug's problem with Chat Noir, too. Marinette had confessed to Chloé over the summer. She'd felt weirdly disloyal to Alya telling Chloé her secret, but Alya wasn't a miraculous holder. Marinette couldn't exactly tell _her_ about everything that had happened between her and Chat. Chloé knew Chat Noir, and she'd spent a lot of time with them as superheroes, patrolling, training and sometimes just talking.

From time to time, they'd worked as a trio, too — an event Chat always said was particularly obnoxious because Queen Bee was as likely as Ladybug to make a dig at him during a fight. He said it was like being rejected by two women at once, though he'd only ever really flirted with Ladybug. Marinette had wondered sometimes what Chat would have thought if he'd realized that both she and Queen Bee were brushing him off because they were busy obsessing over Adrien Agreste. She'd never told Chat about her crush on Adrien, and as far as she knew, Queen Bee never had either. "Because it's girl talk, Ladybug," she'd told Marinette once. And she certainly liked her girl time.

"I swear, Ladybug. Sometimes I don't think Adrien even sees me," Queen Bee said as they lounged in her room Saturday with fancy salads from the hotel restaurant. Tikki had thoroughly enjoyed her gourmet cookie recharge, but Marinette was glad the restaurant had something light on the menu. She still wasn't feeling very well.

"Maybe you should move on," Marinette said. "I think as long as you're trying so hard to get Adrien, he's never going to be able to see you the way you want him to." (He was never going to see Chloé that way no matter what she did, Marinette thought. So the poor girl really needed to move on for her own good.)

"Says the girl who's sending messages to her would-be lover through the local news station," Chloé said. "How many times did you say it this week? Twice? Three times?"

Marinette cringed. She had been caught by news reporters a few times over the course of the week — it had been a busy week — and both times she'd said the same thing she'd said before to Chat when she'd had the opportunity: "Chat Noir, wherever you are, we need you in Paris. I need you. Please come back."

It hurt more every time she had to do it.

"Honestly, I'm getting legit worried about him," Chloé continued. "You know, that akuma is still out there, and the more you pester Chat, the more emotional he's likely to get. You know if you push him over the edge, the akuma will take him over again."

"Yeah, but at least then he might come find me," Marinette said.

"And you'd have to break his heart again," Chloé pointed out.

That was true. That Marinette was not looking forward to.

"And it could be multiplying too, Ladybug. Can you imagine a bunch of people all wandering around Paris and trying to get the truth out of each other? Most of these people do not need to know what they really look like or what their friends really think of them."

"I'll keep that in mind," Marinette said.

Chloé set aside her salad. "I'm serious, Ladybug. You need to figure out how to find him before the akuma does. Who knows how much worse he'll be next time? Your identities are both at stake."

"But-"

"No buts." Chloé shook her finger at Marinette. "You are one of the smartest, most creative women I know. Find a way, okay? And if there's anything I can do to help you, all you have to do is ask."

* * *

Adrien was in Marinette's room, pacing back and forth, and eying the weirdest pile of laundry he'd ever seen. If he didn't know Marinette better, he'd have thought she had a scarecrow on her floor. A headless scarecrow. Of herself.

Or maybe it was just a pile of laundry and he was seeing things. He was having a very unsettling day. Finding out Marinette had quit the mentorship program had been bad. Meeting Master Fu had been weird. Flipping through another black cat's journal while he was in the car after therapy had been frightening. He'd slammed the book shut after only a few pages. Antoine had started that thing with a graphic description of how his Ladybug died. "Hey Gorilla, do you think maybe we could go to Marinette's place?" Adrien had said then, and the look Gorilla gave him had been…disturbing…

So yeah. He was unsettled. To say the least.

Even the plate of warm, gooey cookies on Marinette's desk that her parents had sent up here with him wasn't helping. And those were delicious cookies, that he'd had four of already. But the looks her parents had given him when he'd shown up at the bakery this afternoon had been odd, too, so maybe that's why the cookies weren't calming him down. There was definitely something going on in Marinette's house. Otherwise, her parents wouldn't have looked so…surreptitiously at him.

He sat down on the lounger in Marinette's room and wiped his hands against his slacks. This was bad. When was Marinette going to be back? Should he leave? He'd been really afraid this morning of showing up here to talk to her about the mentorship program, and he still wasn't sure he was doing the right thing. Honestly, no matter how many times he'd rehearsed what he wanted to say to her about the _Gabriel_ program, he couldn't shake the thought that he was being incredibly selfish by putting himself back in her life. Marinette's room was so adorably pink and cheery, and she had this way of smiling with her eyes that made it feel like everything in the world was going to be okay. He wondered if his final decision to come here had something to do with that.

The lower hatch to the room opened, and Adrien jumped away from the lounger as Marinette appeared at the top of the stairs.

She looked up at him. "Adrien? Mom and Dad said you've been here for almost an hour. I didn't know you were coming over." She climbed the rest of the stairs and closed the hatch behind her.

Marinette was pretty. Big blue eyes framed with lush eyelashes. Sweet pink lips below a delicate nose. Thick black hair that she usually pulled back into a low ponytail or a single braid. He wondered what that hair looked liked loose and wondered if she would be okay with him hugging her.

She stood in front of him, looking hard at him, and said, "Are you okay, Adrien?"

He said, "Hey, Marinette." He was not okay, though — and the decision to come here probably had been extremely, incredibly selfish — but he launched himself forward to hug her before he could think about what he was doing.

That had not been his plan.

She made a noise like she was a squeaky toy and for a second he thought he had just done something very wrong. he loosened up the hug in case she wanted to back away. Instead, she put her arms lightly around his back. He thought that was a good sign, so he tucked his chin behind her head, closed his eyes, and held on. It had never really occurred to him before, but Marinette had a similar build to Ladybug. Why hadn't he noticed? Did he have a type?

After a while, Marinette shifted a bit and said, "Adrien? I'm worried about you."

He took a deep, shaky breath without letting her go. This did feel a lot like holding Ladybug, but with Ladybug, he never knew who it was he was really holding. With Marinette, he knew exactly who he was holding, unmasked, with no secrets to hide. She smelled nice. Like something flowery and pastry at the same time.

"Adrien?" she tried again.

"I'm sorry," he said, and he pulled back enough to see her face. Her eyes had even darker circles under them than normal, and they were guarded. She wasn't smiling. He was not sure why he had the urge to lean in and kiss her. As if somehow that would make her smile. "I meant to come here to talk you out of quitting the _Gabriel_ program," he said instead. "But I…kind of had a meeting this morning that upset me." The weird pile of laundry caught his eye behind her shoulder. "Why do you have a scarecrow on your floor, Marinette?"

Marinette backed away and blushed profusely. "I'm glad you came by, Adrien. Do you…want to talk about your meeting? We had a bunch of big orders this week, but Mom and Dad said they pretty much had everything finished now." She went to her desk, picked up a cookie with a napkin, and held it out to him like it was a peace offering of some kind. "Want one?"

"I've had four," he admitted. "They're really good."

She sat down in a roller chair by her desk and began nibbling on the cookie herself. "So what happened? We never got to finish our conversation from earlier in the week. Was it about the girl?"

Now Adrien blushed. It had been about _two_ girls, one of whom was sitting in a chair right in front of him. He shook his head and sank back down on her lounger. "No, but…

"So was it about the St. Petersburg thing instead? I can't believe you might be moving all the way to Russia."

"Me neither," he said, thinking about stupid Larisa. "But hey…I'm supposed to be here to talk about you, not me. We…my dad and I…don't understand why you quit the program." He nodded toward a table in the corner where her sewing machine was sitting. "Fashion design is your dream, and my dad thinks you're really talented. What happened this week?"

She picked up a second cookie and broke off a piece with a snort. "My sewing machine is gathering dust in the corner." She popped the bite of cookie into her mouth, chewed and swallowed. "Adrien, I appreciate the support, but I don't have time for the _Gabriel_ program right now, no matter how great it would have been."

"But you've always made room for the things you care about," he argued. "You didn't have time to be on student council either, and you did that. You don't have time for babysitting, and you do that too."

She frowned. "I don't babysit much anymore, actually. And I'm thinking of quitting student council."

"In your last year?" Adrien was shocked. "Marinette, what's going on with you? Why are you so busy?"

She looked away from him. "What was your meeting about, Adrien?"

He was not sure what to do with that. He had always assumed that if he asked her what was going on, she would tell him. He thought he was only stuck worrying about her because he'd backed away from their friendship. It had never occurred to him that there might be something she just wanted to keep away from him. He looked down, too, and the scarecrow caught his attention one more time. "I guess there are things neither of us want to talk about," he said. "But it's your turn. Will you at least tell me the story on the clothes?"

She winced. "It's embarrassing."

He folded his arms stubbornly. "I told you about the girl. It can't be that embarrassing."

"That wasn't embarrassing at all," she said. "That's just a story about you and someone you love." She took a deep breath. "If I tell you my story, you can't tell anyone."

"Why would I tell someone anything you told me?"

She pseudo-smiled. "Yeah, I know you don't gossip or anything. But this is kind of about a high-profile person."

"Okay…"

"And you already know part of it, I guess. You know Chat Noir was the one that brought me to the hospital earlier in the summer after…?"

Adrien knew that all too well. "Yeah, of course."

She began twisting the napkin she'd been using in her hands. "Well, I never got to thank him. I was unconscious by the time I arrived at the hospital. And he left me a note later to say goodbye, but…"

Adrien wished he had some ginseng tea right now. If Marinette's stress was about Chat Noir, then this day wasn't getting any easier for him. "He's the superhero, Marinette," he said lightly. "I'm sure he wasn't expecting you to thank him. Seems more like he should have been thanking you anyway."

She was now tearing the napkin apart. "But I saw things…"

Adrien tried not to stiffen. "What do you mean?" he asked as casually as possible. Surely if she had seen him transform, she'd have told him? But now his stomach was very sick and his heart was slamming against his chest.

"He was…when I…I don't know how to explain this." She rolled in her chair toward a metal wastebasket, put the destroyed napkin in it, and then reached for a tissue from a box on her desk and dabbed her eyes before looking back at him. "He's not just a superhero, Adrien. There's a person under that suit, and I think he was really hurting that night. So I…just want to be able to talk to him, I guess. To the person, you know? Not the superhero. And I think maybe he wants to talk to me, too, because…" She sniff-laughed and dabbed at her eyes again. "He's come to my house a few times. Don't think too bad of me, but he always runs away before we can talk, and the scarecrow is sort of part of a trap to get him inside if he ever comes back. My whole room is rigged so that it'll look like I'm in trouble if he shows up at my window and thinks of running again. I know that must sound terrible, but I just really need to talk to him…"

Adrien was…floored. Marinette had set up a trap for him. As Chat Noir. A clever trap, apparently, that probably would have caught him. If she hadn't just told him all about it. He felt like he'd dodged a bullet he'd really deserved to get hit by.

Also, she'd figured out that Chat Noir wasn't just a superhero, and she wanted to talk to the person under Chat's mask.

She wanted to talk to him.

He considered taking another cookie just to keep himself from saying anything right away. He didn't even know what to do with that.

She sniffed again and his eyes flashed to her face. She was dabbing away more than a couple of stray tears.

"Don't look," she said pitifully. "I know how silly this must seem. I look like a dumb fangirl."

She did not look like a stupid fangirl. She looked like…

"Oh," Adrien said stupidly, as something he had not anticipated occurred to him.

She laughed sadly and continued crying.

He was getting this all wrong. He got up, pulled a second roller chair close to hers, sat down in it and touched her arm. "You don't look like a fangirl," he said. "I, uh, think maybe you have a thing for Chat Noir, though."

She wiped her eyes again. "I'm so sorry. You have no idea how weird it is for me to talk to you about this."

"Why?" he said, trying to make his voice bright in a way that wouldn't give away that it was weird for him — Chat Noir — to be listening to her talk about this, too. "It's fine, Marinette. So you have a little crush on Chat Noir? So what? I think Ladybug's totally hot."

She began giggling while she cleaned mascara from below her eyes. "You think Ladybug's hot?"

"Well yeah. What kind of guy wouldn't think Ladybug's hot?"

She was still giggling. He liked the sound, but he should have caught on that she was practically hysterical when she said, "Oh, so you're into girls who walk around in skin-tight suits, huh?"

He did not catch on. He scratched his neck and said, "Is that wrong?"

And then her crying morphed into full-blown weeping.

He was an idiot. He rolled his chair as close as he could get it and caught her against him in a hug again. "Whoa, Marinette. I was joking. I'm sorry. What just happened?"

"There's a _person_ underneath Chat Noir's suit," she sobbed. "A guy, Adrien. Like you. Someone who goes to school and has parents and friends and thinks about his future and...and about people he loves. And he's really really hurt, and I need to explain something to him because…"

Her tears were soaking through his shirt, she was shaking, and all his breath had disappeared from his body because he had finally figured out what was really going on and the weight of it all was crushing him from the inside. "Because you're in love with him, aren't you?" he whispered.

She pushed him back gently, but firmly, then curled herself up in that chair and began to cry even harder. "I don't think I'm up for company right now."

And Adrien knew that she deserved the truth, but how could he tell her now? How could he tell this amazing girl, who would have loved him as his whole self, that _he_ was the person she was crying over? How could he do that to her, when he'd told her only days before that he was in love with some _other_ girl?

Adrien leaned down toward her with some instinct he wasn't controlling, brushed a few loose locks of hair away from her face, and kissed her temple. Once. Fast. Then again, letting his lips linger on her skin that time. "It's going to be okay," he said, and he had no idea if that was the lie of the century, but he did know that something in his heart had just changed. "I'm going to call you later, and I still want to talk to you about the _Gabriel_ program, but for tonight we can talk about something that doesn't hurt. Maybe I'll tell you about my Russian tutor."

He stood up. She found another tissue and blew her nose.

"Okay?" he said hopefully.

"Okay," she said through teary, but not hopeless eyes.

Then he left. But only for now, he told himself. Because his heart was tired of loving a shadow, and Marinette deserved better than that, too. It was time for them both to move on from superheroes. It was time for them both to love someone real who could love them back.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I feel like I should be issuing a warning. This whole story is about to deteriorate into cuddle fluff for a while. Because I just really believe that the first relationship in the square to mature has to be Adrinette, and that's a cuddleship for me in the first instance. So, uh, grab a blanket.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I'm only a fangirl.

* * *

 **Chapter 12 - Sweet Dreams**

Alya opened the hatch to Marinette's room to find her best friend pacing back and forth across the room with her cell phone to her ear.

"I can't, Adrien. I told you, I'm super behind at school. I have a huge history assignment, and I have three calculus assignments to turn in by Monday, and that government class I'm taking is killing me—"

There was silence while Alya watched Marinette listen to whatever Adrien was saying.

"You really don't have to do that. I mean…yes, I'd appreciate the help, but…No. I haven't played Mecha Strike in a while…No…What makes you think you could beat me?" She waved hello at Alya briefly, then turned her eyes up toward the skylight while the hint of a smile turned up the corners of her mouth. "Okay, okay. I'll come over….yes, I was going to walk…No! Adrien! That is totally un-…" Marinette sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright. I'll meet Gorilla outside my place at 6."

She ended the call and plopped down on her lounger like she didn't know what had just happened.

Alya knew, though. Adrien was back. At least in the sense that he was communicating with his friends again. He'd been texting Nino about getting together sometime this weekend. He'd emailed Alya a great news article about Ladybug yesterday. And as for Marinette…

"Has he called you every day this week?"

Marinette nodded.

Alya smirked. "Long calls? Like…calls where you chat forever about random stuff and you have to be the one to tell him you have to go?"

"Except for just now," Marinette admitted. "But I think that's because I'm going over to his house in an hour. He swears he can help me with history, and maybe that government class, too."

Alya sat down beside Marinette and slipped her arm around her best friend's waist. "I remember back when you could barely talk to Adrien Agreste. Now who has the major crush?" She squeezed Marinette. "This is perfect. He's way into you."

Marinette groaned a little, but laughed, too. "He's not into me. He just has a therapist who told him it would be a good idea to try to spend time with me so he could work out his fears about me being attacked by someone who thinks I am his girlfriend. He's actually in love with some other girl. He was telling me about her just last week."

Alya didn't know what she was going to do with her clueless friend. "Marinette, how can you be so smart about other people's relationships and completely miss what's going on with your own? He confided in you! It probably felt really good for him to find someone he could trust, and obviously that made him start thinking about you in some new way. I told you Adrien would figure out how amazing you were one day, didn't I?"

"I think he's just trying to be a good friend," Marinette said, "And it's lower risk for him to build back up a relationship with me than with the girl he really loves."

"And I think he's going to try to kiss you tonight," Alya countered.

"When? Between government and history? Or after I knock out those sexy calculus assignments?" Marinette leaned her head sideways against Alya's shoulder. "He's bribing me with Mecha Strike Avengers II to do homework, Alya. This is not a date."

"You're right," Alya said seriously. "This is way better than a date. This is Adrien in head-over-heals-boy-like-mode, inviting you to hang out alone in his room, so he can help you get something done that he knows is stressing you out, so you'll be in a more relaxed and happy mood when he tries to make a play on you." Alya was confident about her assessment. The whole thing was so boy-typical. It even made her think of what Nino had been like when they'd first started dating. She nudged Marinette. "You better tell me everything that happened tomorrow."

Marinette sighed. "We'll see, Alya. Did you bring the stuff? We better look it over before I have to go."

Alya tapped her bag. Marinette's problem with the animals eating her plants on the roof was getting way out of hand. "Got your back. You'll know exactly what's killing your flowers with this video equipment. Let's go set it up."

* * *

"Alya had a lot of enthusiasm," Tikki said after Alya had left. "And you don't really think Adrien just wants to do homework and play video games, do you?"

Marinette smiled at Tikki. "He said he was in love with someone else. And so am I. Right now he just needs a friend. I'm glad I can be there for him."

"If that's what you really think," Tikki said doubtfully.

But that was not what Marinette really thought. Because really, Adrien had called Marinette every day since the day she'd shooed him away from her room so she could cry about Chat Noir in private, and it just…wasn't what she had expected at all.

He had been cheery with her. He'd told her about the Russian tutor he hated (because she apparently reminded him of Chloé, except that he thought maybe she was trying to steal stuff from his house) and about the possible move to St. Petersburg (he thought it was an empty threat, "but I swear, Marinette, my dad has been acting so weird lately, nothing would surprise me"). He also told her about Gorilla's new sidekick bodyguards (he referred to them as "Right" and "Left," but he mixed them up sometimes), and about a modeling gig he'd had to do last week in an abandoned train station ("one word, Marinette: rats").

He called at night, after he thought her homework was probably done. He never seemed to run out of things to say, but he didn't keep her up too late, either. She was too tired to be kept up late, so he almost always ended the call when he heard her yawn — something that had embarrassed her the first time it had happened, but which he seemed to expect by the third time. ("That was my cue. Time for me to say goodnight, Marinette," is what he'd said last night, like this whole Adrien-calling-her-at-night-to-talk was the kind of thing he wanted to continue long enough that he'd worked out stuff like what his cue for saying goodnight to her should be.)

He also texted. A lot. And he teased more in texts than he did when they talked, so it felt like a whole different side of his personality coming out. Tuesday afternoon during calculus, he'd made her laugh so hard with a text chain comparing a Jagged Stone song to an episode of Stranger Things that the teacher almost caught her texting in class. Alya didn't miss nearly as much as their calc teacher did, though, so after class she demanded that Marinette hand over her phone.

"Oh. My. God," she'd said. Then she held the phone up to Marinette's face. "Are these from Adrien? Your Adrien? The guy you can't talk to without stuttering?"

"He's not my Adrien," Marinette had tried to explain. "And obviously I'm not having trouble talking with him any more."

Alya's eyes bugged almost out of her head, then she went back to the phone and scrolled through the messages. "Obviously he's flirtexting with you! I can't believe it. And some of these are really funny." She scrolled through the messages and frowned. "Except for that one. That pun was awful. But otherwise…who is this guy and what did he do with Adrien?"

Marinette had no response for that. She wasn't sure what had happened either. This was not the reaction she thought she was going to get from Adrien Agreste to his discovery that she was in love with Chat Noir.

Not that she had ever expected him to find out she was in love with Chat Noir at all. That had not been in any of her plans, under any circumstance, but if she had ever imagined something like this happening, there was no way it would have happened the way it had happened in real life.

Adrien wasn't the kind of person who would ever have been a jerk to her about her unrequited love for a superhero who frolicked around in black leather (or at least high-quality knock-off material). He was a nice person. If she had ever dreamed this up before, he probably would have been sympathetic to her grief. He'd have said something bland like: "I'm sorry, Marinette." He might have handed her a tissue or patted her shoulder. He might have hugged her. Might. Not crushed her into his chest like he couldn't stand seeing her cry like an idiot and would rather her ruin what was probably a very expensive shirt with her tears. Not kissed her, even in a harmless place, like the top of her head. Kissing was supposed to be out of the realm of possibility.

Also, when she asked him to leave, he was supposed to just leave and then avoid ever talking to her about it again. Ever. Instead, he'd called her exactly two hours later — on the dot — and launched immediately into: "First, Chat Noir is a dumb ass. He probably had no idea you cared about him. Second, we don't have to talk about him, but I've met the guy a few times, so if you want to talk about him, we can. And third, do your parents put magic into those cookies? I wish I'd taken some home. I can't stop thinking about them."

What Marinette couldn't stop thinking about was Adrien. Because she was sure Chat was the one she loved, but Chat _was_ being a dumb ass, and Adrien had decided to wise up, and Adrien was the one who had somehow managed to talk her into coming over for dinner, homework and Mecha Strike.

Mecha Strike.

"A dozen cookies, just for him, and tell him we like it when he makes you smile," her mom said as Marinette watched for Gorilla and his town car to show up shortly thereafter on Thursday evening. "He's welcome here any time."

Marinette took the cookies but felt too warm in her wool coat. She unbuttoned it. "I don't know if I want him here any time. What if Chat finally decides to show back up and Adrien's with me playing Mecha Strike in my room?"

"If all you're doing is playing Mecha Strike, that probably wouldn't be too bad," her mother said in a far-too-innocent tone.

Marinette blushed all the way to the roots of her hair. "What if we're doing something…else?"

Her mom nodded sagely. "Then you'll know who you should stick with based on how they react to each other."

Marinette hoped it would be that easy.

* * *

Adrien was nervous. Marinette was sitting in his room, two feet away from him on his sofa, gnawing at the end of a pen as she read through her calculus notes one more time. He, in the meanwhile, had already finished going through her government and history notes. If she could get through the math, he was sure he could help her with the rest. He leaned back on his end of the sofa and tried to glance at the clock without making it obvious that he was checking the time. Quarter to eight. This was going to be a long homework night.

Not that he had expected it to be anything else. This, after all, was not a date.

Although Plagg begged to differ. The kwami had been practically jumping off furniture before Marinette arrived. "Oooh…dinner and homework and video games," he'd said, bounding from Adrien's desk to his foosball table and then to the couch. "Master Fu is good for you."

Adrien had gone to another appointment with Master Fu earlier in the week. He was finding the sessions helpful — though he still hadn't read more of that journal — and he thought maybe he was shaking off some of his fears. He was texting Nino again. He was considering the possibility of going back to school to finish out his last year.

But…he wasn't sure he could trust the man's dating advice.

"Master Fu said I should invite her over to watch Netflix and chill," Adrien had told Plagg. "Do you think he even knows what that means?"

Plagg smirked. "Just be glad he's trying to speak to you in your language, kid. That guy has mastered the entire kama sutra. And he clearly thinks you need to learn how to chill."

He did not need to learn how to "chill." He was frickin' Chat Noir. He was confident that his "chilling" abilities (though admittedly untested in the real world) were just fine. And anyway, he thought as he glanced over at Marinette glaring down at her calculus book, that's not what tonight was for. Marinette legitimately needed homework help. There would be no chilling.

He leaned sideways on the couch toward her. "You've been looking at that page for ten minutes."

She made a nasty face at the book, then threw her pen down. "I know, and I usually like calculus. But every time I try to understand this part, the numbers and lines just swirl together."

He reached over and picked up her calculus book from the table. She was using the same one he'd been using, though he was several lessons ahead. He read over the lesson.

"Can I see your notebook?" he asked.

She handed it over, leaned her head back and shut her eyes while he read through what she'd already done. Which was not very much.

He shut the book.

"You can't help me, then?" she said wearily.

He set the book aside. "You're too tired for calculus right now. I can't help you until you're awake enough to do it. Maybe we should move on to history."

She raked her fingers through her hair and yawned. "If I'm too tired for calculus, I don't see how history is going to be any easier. Maybe I should just go home and try to get some sleep."

Plagg had suggested that Adrien "make a move" during Mecha Strike. "Right after she kicks your ass the third time," had been his specific suggestion. Adrien had not planned on making any "moves" on Marinette, though. During homework or Mecha Strike, which he didn't think they were going to get to now. But there was something about a yawning, sleepy Marinette that made Adrien really really really want to snuggle. And this was as good an excuse as any, right? So he picked up her history book, scooted to sit next to her, and said, "Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to read the history section to you, and all you have to do is sit here and listen. Then I'll help you think through the assignment."

She laughed.

"Why was that funny?" he asked, taking the laugh as an opportunity to slouch and scootch just close enough that his arm was now touching hers.

She laughed more, then covered her mouth like she was trying to keep it in.

"Oh, come on. What's the joke?"

"I just…" She blushed and did not finish that thought.

He'd scooted close enough for their legs to almost touch. She was warm next to him. It was nice. It made him want to put his arm around her shoulder. He bumped her knee experimentally with his, and he thought the laughter that came from her in response was more nervous giggle than regular laugh. "You just what?" he asked softly, then he bumped her knee again.

She calmed down briefly, looked down at their knees, and then bumped his back. "I just thought you really wanted to help me with homework."

He propped the history book up in his lap, flipped it open to the page her lesson started on, and managed to use that adjustment to shift even closer to her. "I do want to help you with homework. I told you I'd read the section to you."

She giggled again. Definitely that was giggling, he decided. He cleared his throat and began reading the assignment. Two pages later, he stopped.

"Still with me?" he asked, nudging her knee one more time, but this time leaving his leg so it rested against hers after the nudge.

She smiled down at their knees. "Still with you."

He read another page and a half, then stopped when she yawned again. There was no way she was awake enough for this either, but since she obviously wasn't getting enough rest at home, it didn't seem like it would be a terrible thing if she fell asleep here for a minute. Rest was almost as important as homework. He made an executive decision, shifted the book on his lap so he could hold it with one hand, and stretched his arm around her shoulder. Then he waited tensely to see what she would do.

She laughed again, but almost under her breath this time, and then he was pleased when she leaned her head against his chest. "Still just helping me with homework?" she asked playfully.

"Helping you until you fall asleep like this," he admitted while he arranged them both so she could rest against him more comfortably.

"Then I won't get my history assignment done."

"You can come over tomorrow after school for that."

She closed her eyes and nuzzled. "You're being…really nice to me. Is this a dream?"

There was something wonderful about having Marinette snuggled up with him while her breathing evened out and he felt her relaxing bit by bit. "Maybe my dream," he said.

"Not likely," she said with her eyes still shut. "I thought you were in love with the girl you used to work with."

"And I thought your thing was for Chat Noir."

She yawned again, so wide this time that he caught it and yawned too. "Yes. But Adrien Agreste has his arm around my shoulder. You're lucky I'm not drooling all over you. It's only because I'm so tired."

"I'll be luckier if you do start drooling over me," he said. "Because that will mean you've fallen asleep. And I think you desperately need the rest so that we can be productive tomorrow."

"Let's be productive now," she said. "Start reading again."

That seemed like the right idea to him, so he did start reading. He read all the way to the end of the assignment, in fact - though she'd fallen asleep far before then - on the grounds that maybe it would seep into her subconscious while she slipped into a dream. It was only half past eight. He set the book aside, grabbed his phone, set an alarm for half past nine and closed his eyes for what was supposed to be a single moment. He didn't open them again until he heard his alarm going off an hour later, and by then, she was cuddled snuggly against him, and he was tempted to press snooze when she turned her face into his chest.

He shut off the alarm, delayed for a few more seconds, and then squeezed her shoulders. She nuzzled more, which made him want to nuzzle back. But someone here had to be responsible, so he kissed her hair instead and whispered, "Hey Sleeping Beauty, it's time to get up."

She whimpered sweetly in her sleep. He kissed her hair again, rested his nose in it and kissed her a third time before he started trying to extricate himself from her arms. She clung to him resistantly, and he thought about how nice it would be if instead of forcing her out of his room, he could actually kiss her and maybe keep her here. Not for anything beyond kissing. Just maybe for more than one kiss, and maybe for taking her to his bed. _Not_ for anything Master Fu would have suggested. Just maybe for a few more kisses, and then to fall asleep snuggled together, just one civilian teenager who was trying to forget about his crush on a superhero with another civilian teenager trying to forget about her crush on another superhero.

But…that was not something they could do. "Come on, Princess," he said. "We have to get you home."

And to that she tightened her hands in his shirt and said, "No, Chat."

* * *

Author's Note: I love writing fanfiction. It is so incredibly freeing to write a chapter and post it without knowing for sure what the next chapter will bring. But then there's this thing that happens sometimes, where you start trying to write the next chapter and none of the characters will behave and you end up with five versions of chapter 12 in a scrivener file, because that's how seriously you take your fanfiction. And sometimes there's this other thing, where you look back at a previous chapter and go, "Wow. That is a mighty big plot hole. And there's another. And another..." Then you end up having to go back and revise slightly, so that your story has some consistency. Then there's this third thing, where Season 2 comes out (kind of) and you start watching it and you're like, "Whoa, okay, this is awesome. Zag is awesome. And as for my story...well. I guess it just became AU."

All of those things are me right now, but I'm going to keep writing this story anyway, because tonight the cuddling scene at the end just worked for me. Hopefully I can stay true to the characters - a little - even as the actual show moves on.

My sincere apologies for the slow updates. I am trying to write faster on this, but I must confess that I'm also working on some original fiction right now. I get it, though. Chat Noir is a high priority. I shall endeavor not to let you down for so long again!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is not mine. I wish.

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Gone Bug**

Master Fu Shoushan had known four black cats and four ladybugs during his tenure as a guardian of the miraculouses. The day Antoine lost Sophia was his worst day as a guardian. Just thinking about it could still make him sick. The day he lost Francois and Colette, together, in the same horrible explosion, was his second worst. They, however, had revealed their identities to each other early and loved each other deeply, and they'd died taking down a villain who had terrorized Paris. Thinking about that made Shoushan sad, but his third set, Timothy and Rachelle, both still assured him that he should be proud of Francois and Colette. He _was_ very proud of them. But still.

As for Timothy and Rachelle…Shoushan had always felt as though he'd failed them in a different way. They survived their service as heroes, but they never shared a romantic connection. Now Timothy was living with his daughter in the U.S. while Colette was with her husband in southern France. Supposedly Timothy and Colette were still "the closest friends," but Shoushan knew they hadn't spoken to each other in many many years. It made him sad, though he knew that was silly. "We were professionals, Master Fu," Colette sometimes told him, though, and Timothy would say, "Better to trust each other completely as friends than have some kind of lover's spat. You know how dangerous that can be."

Dangerous indeed. When Marinette Dupain-Cheng showed up at Master Fu's place on a Saturday morning only fifteen minutes after Adrien Agreste had left, Master Fu felt strongly that a cup of calming tea was in order. He brewed a pot for himself and Marinette, who seemed even more agitated than the last time he'd seen her.

"Chat has shown up on my balcony at least three times," she told Master Fu. "I _know_ he's still out there, and I know he cares about Marinette. But he hasn't been there for _Ladybug_ in months."

Tikki took a sip of Marinette's tea and fluttered around nervously. "I told her she needed to come see you, Master Fu. Because I thought maybe…"

Master Fu sighed. Tikki was clever.

"You thought that if Chat Noir was coming to check on Marinette, then Plagg might have helped him find his way to me as well."

For a creature that only stood about six inches tall, Tikki could be extremely intimidating. She flew so close to Master Fu's nose that his eyes nearly crossed focusing on her.

"Plagg might have enjoyed all this chaos in the beginning, but even he wouldn't have wanted it to go on for this long. His memory isn't that short." She looked sternly at Shoushan. "Is yours, Fu Shoushan?"

Shoushan tried not to squirm under Tikki's gaze. Tikki had never blamed him for the death of Sophia, but stubborn Sophia had been quite different from tender Marinette. He had the feeling that if something happened to this Ladybug, Tikki might never forgive him. Nevertheless, he couldn't risk giving away Chat's identity. After all, it wasn't Shoushan's identity to give away. A guardian couldn't do such a thing. A bad reveal could mean a partnership botched forever, and this partnership had plenty of potential. Adrien Agreste had just spent a tortured hour in the same exact spot Marinette was now sitting, talking about how hard he was falling for Ms. Dupain-Cheng's civilian self even though he couldn't seem to let her hero self go. He was _so_ close to figuring it out. Nearly, almost there…

Marinette, who was as clever as her kwami, sat forward as if she'd seen something telling in Shoushan's face. "Oh, please Master Fu. Has Chat been here? Can you please just tell me if he's okay?"

Shoushan evaded Tikki's eyes in favor of sipping his tea. "Sometimes to find what we really want, we must stop searching the horizon and appreciate what's in front of us," he said cautiously, and Marinette sat silent for so long after that Shoushan's tea began to get cold.

Finally, he broke the silence. "Is there something in front of you that you need to appreciate more, Marinette?"

Marinette looked down to the corner of the mat. "I didn't appreciate Chat when he was right in front of me," she said. "I was only ever thinking of…another guy. And now the other guy is there, and for so long I wanted him to be interested in me, because he's wonderful, and he still makes me feel…things…but I love Chat."

She paused.

"And Chat is still coming to my balcony." She shifted her gaze back up to Master Fu with a fiery expression in her eyes and stood. "He isn't on the horizon, Master Fu, and I'm not giving up on him. So if you see him, maybe you could tell him to look at what's right in front of him."

She left then, but Tikki stayed behind briefly, leveling Shoushan with a blazing stare of her own. "Tell Plagg that I will blame _him_ , personally, if anything happens to her," she said coldly.

Shoushan had to brew an entirely new pot of tea to get over the encounter. Waze, his own kwami, was lounging by the tea bags when Tikki and Marinette left.

"You made that line up about not searching the horizon, didn't you?" Waze said. "It didn't go very well."

Shoushan breathed in the steam above his fresh cup of tea. "Maybe I should retire after this reveal, Waze. I think I'm getting too old for this."

* * *

"What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?" Adrien asked Marinette, as casually as he could without alerting her to the fact that he was about to drop a bomb on her.

And it _was_ a bomb. Big one. That he wanted to get out of the way before their fun started tonight. After all, it had been months since he'd spent a Saturday evening with all his best friends, and Alya and Nino were bringing Ultimate Mecha Dance Party. Adrien was actually excited.

But before they got to their fun, Marinette needed to finish one last history assignment, and Adrien had to drop that bomb.

"Who _cares_ who started the War of 1870?" Marinette answered, throwing her book down onto the coffee table. She leaned her head against the back of the couch. "Isn't the main point to _end_ war, not start it?"

Adrien was enjoying the side of Marinette that complained about homework and relaxed in front of him. It made him want to cuddle, and since she hadn't initiated anything cuddly with him today, he had resorted to shameful flirting.

Like now, how he responded to her by leaning in and resting his head against her shoulder. "Of course it is." He nuzzled his head against the crook of her neck. "But you're almost at the end of the assignment, and Alya and Nino said they'd be here by five. You don't want us to start playing Ultimate Mecha Dance Party without you, do you?"

She made a girly grunting noise that was presumably meant to mean "no," and he thought it was ridiculously cute. Then she tilted her head toward his. "If I had known you were going to be such a homework stickler, I don't think I'd have agreed to come over again."

"If I had known you would have to go back to the bakery for a cake emergency in the middle of the afternoon, I'd have tried to talk you into coming over earlier." He picked her hand up from her lap and thought about kissing it. He didn't even care if Plagg made fun of him for it later. She had soft skin, and he liked it against his lips, and every gesture like that was one more effort he could make to nudge her away from Chat and toward him.

He went for it.

She pulled her hand out of his and scooted away fast, forcing him to sit up.

"I'm sorry, Adrien. I…you're just making me think of…"

He was making her think of Chat.

Of course he was. Chat was the person Adrien was when he was relaxed enough to play, and Marinette was in love with that guy. If he flirted, she was going to see the Chat in him. So how was he supposed to get her to like him without revealing that he was Chat?

If he told her who he really was, none of this would be a problem. He would have other problems. Problems like she might not love Adrien or Chat once she found out he'd been keeping this secret from her the whole time.

Still, this wasn't the first time recently that he'd imagined telling her. Ever since she'd called him "Chat" Thursday night, he'd been thinking about it. It had been such a surprise to find out she was in love with Chat to begin with, but to hear her call for him in her sleep…well…that was a real amplifier. If he'd been a little over-protective of her ever since the incident with those kidnappers in the summer, that was nothing compared to how he was starting to feel as he realized more and more that this girl loved something deep and real inside him.

She'd gone back to her homework, and now she was leaning over her knees, looking for all the world like she was fervently reading the history book that she hated. He could practically hear the wheels spinning in her head though. She was not thinking about any historic wars. She was thinking about how bad she felt about liking him when she was still in love with Chat.

It would be so much easier if he could only tell her.

Maybe…

His phone buzzed and he picked it up. Nino had texted. Apparently, he and Alya were on their way. Adrien watched anxiously as Marinette finished the last few pages of the chapter. He didn't have much time left, and there was still Da Bomb to drop.

She finally closed the history book. "Done," she announced. She pivoted on the couch to face him casually, and also, he thought, to put a little more space between them. Then she picked up her phone. "And just in time for Alya and Nino."

Yeah. No time left at all. And Adrien wasn't a wimp, so he finally took a nice, deep breath, and said, "So, uh, what are you doing tomorrow afternoon?"

She rolled her eyes. "More homework probably."

He nodded. "Well, uh, do you think you would have time to spare in the afternoon? Because my dad has a private fashion show for a potential new client, and he really wants you there."

Adrien had been right. It was an enormous, catastrophic bomb. She looked horrified.

"I quit the program," she said. "I can't do it, Adrien. I'm too busy."

"I know, and I've been telling my dad that, but I don't think anyone has ever actively rejected his program like you did."

She slumped. "I had no idea leaving the Gabriel program would be like breaking up with a bad boyfriend. Your dad needs to understand that I'm trying to do the responsible thing."

Adrien felt really bad for her. His dad was the most manipulative person he knew, and he clearly hadn't given up on Marinette. She wasn't going to get rid of Gabriel easily.

"You won't have any responsibilities at the show," he said. "Dad thought it would be a good opportunity for you to see him again without any pressure. All you have to do is come as my date, and—"

"Your date?" she squeaked as her eyes popped open again. "When was that part of the deal?"

"Well, I have to go to the show, too," he said sheepishly. "Because I'm modeling a bunch of clothes, and there's this reception after, and Chloe will probably be there, and I don't really want to be bait again, so I'd feel a lot better if I could be there with someone."

"So you just want me to act like your date?" she asked, a note of hurt he hadn't expected in her voice.

He didn't want her to _act_ like his date. That wasn't what he'd meant. A twinge of guilt hit him as his eyes went automatically to her lips, but he shoved it away when he saw the question in her eyes that told him she'd seen him look, and he felt warmth swirl inside him.

"I want you to be my date," he admitted. "For real."

She bit her lip, and a flame jumped in the center of his chest. "Adrien, I thought you said you were in love with some other girl."

He licked his lips. "The other girl was never willing to be herself with me. I…want to try being with someone who can."

Her breath hitched and her eyes softened. "But I'm still in love with Chat Noir."

He considered that. "Do you…feel like this is unfaithful to him? He said goodbye to you, didn't he? Told you he wasn't coming back?"

Her eyes shined. "I know…but if he ever did come back…what if he…I can't hurt him again…and it would hurt me so much, if…"

Adrien was never going to let Chat Noir hurt her again. He leaned forward to capture her in a hug, and she didn't try to stop him, so he took that as a good sign.

"Look…if I were Chat Noir, and I knew you loved me this much, even though I had said goodbye to you, I would want you to try to move on," he said.

She made a choked noise. "I…don't know if I want to move on."

"I know you don't." He had started stroking her back, though, and she was letting him do it. "And Marinette, if you want me to stop…flirting…I will. In a heartbeat. We can still be friends, I swear. But what I want…if you're willing to try it…"

She'd started crying, and he'd totally fucked this up. He held her tight, tucking her chin toward his shoulder. "It's okay, Marinette," he while she shook. "It's okay," he repeated over again.

She sniffled and pulled away from him. "It's not. I just…I can't, Adrien. You're…great. You…this is amazing." She laughed sadly. "Or maybe it's horrible. I don't know. You know I had that huge crush on you for years—"

He frowned. "What huge crush?"

She covered her eyes and sniff-laughed into her hands. "Oh. _Now_ you know. Don't you remember how bad I used to stutter around you? Back before we were really friends, and before I knew what it was to love someone for real…I had such a thing for you. I thought I was in love."

He mentally face-planted while a horrible realization hit him. Ladybug had _never_ loved him as Chat and hadn't _wanted_ to get to know Adrien. Marinette had loved him as Adrien, then as Chat. She was the one. How had he missed that? Had he been that blind because of Ladybug?

He had to tell her the truth. But he couldn't, could he? What if she would be in even more danger because of him?

She deserved to know, though.

He hugged her again because he had no clue what to say or do now.

"You don't have to be so nice to me. Not if you…and I…"

"But this isn't making you feel bad right now, is it?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, no. That's not it. It's…you make me feel like I can let down my guard."

He snuggled her toward him, rearranged his arm to make them both more comfortable and kissed the crown of her head. "Then do you think maybe you could leave open the possibility of…"

"Of what?"

"Of us," he whispered. "For now?"

"I don't want to lie to you about how I feel," she said, and for some reason that made her start crying again.

"Then don't. Let's just…be sweet to each other and see where things go. Maybe you won't feel the same tomorrow."

More tears.

"Am I saying the wrong things, Marinette?"

Hard tears. "It's just… _he_ said…"

Adrien kissed her temple. "Hey, it's okay. There's no pressure here." He laughed. "Except for you to come with me to the show tomorrow. Please."

She sniffed and leaned away from him. "I need a tissue," she said.

He stood up to get a box from his desk.

"Please, Marinette? I really just need a friend there. Otherwise, my dad will be all over my case and I'll be stuck there with just Chloe and…"

The door to the room opened.

"Uh, is everything okay in here?" Nino said as he and Alya walked into the room looking very awkward.

Marinette took the box of tissues from Adrien and blew her nose while Adrien realized they'd never talked about who else knew about the crush she had on Chat Noir. Did Alya know?

Maybe not. Because Alya had torn past Nino to get to Marinette. "Hey! What's going on? Are you okay?"

Marinette wiped her eyes furiously and Adrien felt terrible for her and terrible about causing all of this.

"It's nothing," he said, searching quickly for a good lie. "I was telling her a story about my mom. She's sentimental."

Alya frowned at him. "Are you sure, Agreste?"

But Marinette wiped her nose with another tissue and said, "He's covering for me. I got upset talking about the internship. That's all. And Adrien's dad wants me to go to some fashion show tomorrow. Did you guys bring Ultimate Mecha Dance Party?"

Alya looked between her and Adrien. "There's something else going on here…"

"Not now, okay, Alya?" Marinette said. "Please? Can we just play?"

Alya agreed reluctantly—because she at least knew when to stop pressing Marinette—and it didn't take too long before things seemed to have righted themselves. Marinette seemed fine dancing with Alya and kicking his butt, and by the time Natalie interrupted with snacks, everything seemed fine.

"Hey, check this out," Alya said, flashing her phone at them all while they ate nachos and guacamole. "Some new villain's over at the university. Calling himself Drop Out. That's two akumatized villains in one day. I hope Chat Noir feels bad about making Lady Bug do this all on her own."

"Yeah," Adrien said uncomfortably as his stomach clenched.

Marinette paled. "I, uh…Adrien, where is the bathroom again?"

He felt sad knowing that she was almost for sure looking for a place to go cry again, but he said, "Three doors to your left down the hall."

Then while she was gone, he wondered for several minutes how he was going to handle this when she got back and whether he should tell Nino and Alya what was going on.

Then he wondered some more.

And some more.

And Marinette still hadn't come back…

Finally, Alya said, "It's been a long time. I'm going to check on her."

"Dude, is everything okay with you and Marinette?" Nino whispered as Alya headed out of the room. "I thought things were getting better with both of you."

Adrien winced. "It's complicated, Nino. It's…there's a lot going on, and…"

Alya came back into the room. Her face looked stricken. "Marinette's gone."

"What?" Adrien said.

"Natalie said she saw her run out the front door, and—"

Adrien stood up. "But she left her bag and all her homework. She can't just have left."

Alya shook her head at him. "I'm sorry, Adrien. She's gone."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

A year between updates. I have no good excuses, though it was REALLY hard not to make this a total snugglefest. It was dangerously close to being one, actually. Until I finally realized Marinette would never give up on a guy she loved. (Sorry Adrien, but this isn't a girl who caves easy. She's in love with Chat. So you better show up as Chat next time you want to flirt.)

Also...I cannot make any promises about updates, but I do have some super exciting news. I FINALLY finished the original novel I've been working on, and it is now available on Amazon. And you know what I need for it? Readers. Readers who like fluff. The kind of fluff I write in my fanfiction. Basically, I need you.

So this means two things:

1\. I want you enough that I am going to be running a promotion on my new book from December 5-December 9. During that time, you can go to amazon and get the e-book for free. It's called Sassafras and the Queen.

2\. I want other people like you, too, and they may not have noticed this update. So that probably means the best way for me to find those readers is to update again. Can I do that consistently? I don't know. But I'm going to try. So...maybe there's some real hope that I'll finish Mend in 2019! It could happen...

If you got down here, thank you SO much for tolerating the self-promotion. Which is going to continue. Shamefully. Probably forever. But...in return, I will do my level best to give you good fanfiction and good original fiction.

Cheers!

FanPanda13


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:**

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is not mine. I wish.

 **Chapter 14 - Confrontation**

Adrien's first instinct was to transform into Chat Noir and chase down Marinette. She had to know. He had to tell her. The problem with him and Ladybug had always been the secrets. He didn't need to make that mistake with Marinette.

Nino was in his room, though, and Alya had ordered them to stay at the Agreste mansion and wait while she went out and searched for Marinette, just in case Marinette decided to come back.

Apparently, she didn't think Adrien should try to find Marinette. "Make sure he doesn't go anywhere," she'd told Nino on her way out. "He's caused enough trouble."

Ouch.

So now Adrien was pacing back and forth across his room, trying to figure out how to get Nino out so he could transform, and Nino was sitting on his couch with his elbows on his knees, holding his cell phone with two hands, and watching Adrien with an extremely worried expression on his face.

"Tell me again what happened before we got here," Nino said. "Marinette looked upset when we walked in."

"I don't want to talk about it," Adrien said.

"Why? Did you do something you don't feel good about?"

"Yeah," Adrien said. Then he realized how that sounded and he quickly corrected. "But not, like, that bad. I was just flirting a little, and she asked me to stop."

Nino dropped his cell phone. "What?"

Adrien felt his entire body turning red. "It wasn't that bad. We were sitting on the couch, and I was helping her with homework, and I got a little cuddly, and—"

"You got inappropriately grabby?" Nino cocked his head at Adrien. "I can't even see you doing something like that."

"No!" Adrien waved his hands back and forth in big x-ing motions. "Of course not. I…well…I kissed the back of her hand—"

"Right. So…not something men of our generation typically do," Nino said. "But doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would make Marinette run away from you."

Adrien thought about everything that had happened after. He'd asked her to go out with him, pressed her to try to give them a chance, reminded her about her unrequited love for a dumb cat, made her cry…

He had to go after her. She had to know.

"Nino, I can't stay here. I need to try to find her."

Nino sat back on the couch. "Oh, no. You heard Alya. We're supposed to stay put. She is going after Marinette."

"I'm the one who made her feel bad."

Nino looked pained. "Look, man. I hate to tell you this, but this definitely isn't the first time Marinette has felt bad because of you, and it probably won't be the last. Alya is better equipped to handle this."

"But—"

Nino crossed his arms. "No. You have to stay. Let Alya do her thing. Marinette was just upset. She'll be okay."

Adrien had no idea what to do. He danced from foot-to-foot.

"Try to relax," Nino suggested. "She left her homework. Maybe she just needed some air."

It had already been half an hour. She hadn't just needed some _air_.

"Adrien, dude, come on. If you find her, you might just make it worse."

Adrien bit his lip. Yes, he could make it worse. If he told her everything, she could be furious at him. Or…maybe…just maybe…she would care enough about him to give him a chance. As Adrien. Knowing why he couldn't be Chat Noir anymore…

"I…think I need a shower," he said slowly.

"Are you serious?"

"Model thing," Adrien said.

"It is not a model thing."

"Whatever. It's a thing." Adrien saw Plagg hiding behind a television. The kwami rolled his little eyes.

"Whatever. It's a weird Adrien thing," Nino said. "And it's going to be extra weird when Alya shows back up with Marinette and you're in your private bathroom in a towel."

Adrien shrugged. "But at least I'll be here."

"Yeah, yeah." Nino picked his phone up from the floor, apparently satisfied with—or used to—Adrien's lame excuse. "I don't care as long as you don't leave the room until Alya gets back."

"Right. Of course," Adrien said, slipping back toward the bathroom suite that connected to his room.

Plagg followed him there and perched on the faucet of the sink. "It's a model thing?" the snarky kwami said.

"It's a Chat Noir thing," Adrien admitted. "And Plagg…"

Plagg grinned. "Going after the girl then?"

"Claws out!"

* * *

The Drop Out had the ability to make his victims forget the most important lessons they'd learned in school, and that meant Marinette was now dealing with an akumatized villain and also a whole bunch of university students who couldn't remember how to count or write their names. It was pandemonium, and Marinette couldn't figure out where the akuma was. The Drop Out wasn't wearing a hat or carrying a diploma. He didn't have a pin on his sweater. He didn't wear glasses. And all he seemed to have to do to attack his victim was whack the person on the back of the head. It was like he was whacking knowledge right out of people's brains.

Honestly, it could have been worse—he'd have to get close to her to use his power on her—but he did have an unfortunate ability to drop into black holes below his feet and reappear elsewhere whenever he wanted. It made her vulnerable standing pretty anywhere except against a wall, and even then, there had already been a few close calls where he'd shown up right next to her, and almost managed to get in a whack.

If she hadn't been so tired already…but there had been so much homework and the "bakery emergency" that had forced her away from Adrien's place earlier had of course not had anything to do with pastries. That akumatized villain had taken a long time to defeat, too, and she was sure she was never going to look at a head of cabbage the same way again. And she'd had that meeting with Master Fu this morning. And she'd had to deal with Adrien flirting. Blatantly. And asking her on a date.

Oh mon dieu. Adrien Agreste had asked her to consider the possibility of "them" and then he'd asked her on a date to a fashion show, and she'd basically said no both times.

"Ha! Got you now, Ladybug!"

The Drop Out was right next to her again. He swung his hand out and she ducked fast.

"Think again, Drop Out," she said, but she didn't really have the spirit to tease villains anymore, and all her banter these days was coming out flat. She used her yo-yo to vault up to a rooftop and tried to figure out where the akuma could even be hiding. Was there a note somewhere in a pocket? A shoe? Tucked into underwear? (She'd seen that before at least twice. Ick. But it happened.)

He spotted her, dropped into another hole, and was suddenly right behind her on the roof. She spun just in time and ran for it. Ugh. Where was Chat Noir? She could really have used a kitty with an amazing pole to vault them up to somewhere in the middle of the sky where Drop Out couldn't get to them.

"Please, Chat," she found herself praying to the wind again. "I can't do this alone anymore."

* * *

Adrien couldn't find Marinette. She wasn't at home. He knew because he'd spotted Alya there and he was stealthy enough to eavesdrop while Alya talked to Marinette's mom. No, Marinette wasn't back yet, she'd said. Had they checked the school? The library? She was like that, you know. Marinette. Always forgetting some important part of a school project.

But Adrien was pretty sure he knew all of Marinette's current homework assignments, and none of them required her to go to a physical library. It seemed suspicious. Her mom just didn't seem concerned at all that Marinette had run out of Adrien's house in the middle of what was supposed to be a fun evening with all her friends there. How was that not a big deal?

It occurred to Adrien that maybe Ms. Cheng was covering for Marinette, so he went up to her roof to check. He had not forgotten that Marinette had set up some kind of trap to catch Chat Noir (and just how weird was it that he thought that was cute and not creepy?), but since he knew about it, he wasn't going to fall for any of it. He was incredibly careful not to actually set foot on the roof. The pole was useful. He could use it to get to all kinds of things that he could climb, and he was able to get a good look into Marinette's window. It was dark inside. She wasn't there.

So now he was flinging himself through Paris, frantically looking for Marinette. He must have really upset her bad. Or maybe she'd gotten sick and didn't want to tell anyone? Or…well, he didn't want to think about this…but what if someone had managed to kidnap her again? That seemed kind of random, but when you were friends with an Agreste, stuff like that could happen. And no, she wasn't at the high school. And no, she wasn't at the closest public library. But he had no other leads, and he was desperate, so he started checking other libraries. No Marinette at the next closest public library. No Marinette at the library across town.

And no Marinette at the university library.

But he realized he'd made a critical error going there the moment he'd shown up. It was bad timing. Wrong place, wrong time…what had he been thinking? Obviously, it hadn't been anything especially rational. He should have stayed at the mansion. He should have tried somewhere else. Alya's house. Agreste Tower. The Eiffel Tower. The Louvre.

But not the university library.

Not when there was an akumatized villain at the university.

How had he forgotten that?

And he was supposed to be looking for Marinette, but how had he forgotten how he always felt the second he saw those black polka dots on that red suit? His heart was going crazy skipping beats.

Ladybug.

"Chat?" she said, like he was a ghost. Then her eyes became enormous—he'd always loved those eyes—and she dove toward him at the same time as she yelled his name again. "Chat! Watch out!"

He fell back with Ladybug on top of him. It was such a familiar feeling. Her body had always been just perfect against his. Even if he registered that she was…lighter than she'd been before. Smaller. It was still like he'd never stopped doing this.

He saw the villain immediately. Some hipster with a shaggy haircut dropping in and out of black holes. Had the guy called himself the Drop Out? And what did he think he was doing, stalking toward them with his hand out like he was going to whack one of them?

Chat tucked his ankle quickly around Ladybug's and rolled them away.

"No!" she cried out then, but she wasn't looking at him, so he assumed that meant Drop Out was right behind him. She swung her yo-yo up to a ceiling fan and the feeling of flying through the air with her—weightless with the magic of her yo-yo or his pole—was also something that came right back to him. He saw a window and didn't even think before he was vaulting them both from the ceiling fan out the window. So easy. His arm around her waist, her arm around his back, and no fear about falling or faltering.

He used the pole to catch them both outside. When she was sitting securely on his thigh, and they were both high in the sky, where Drop Out couldn't get to them, he began looking around.

"Where's the akuma?" he said like he'd been doing this with her for the last several months.

"Can't find it," she said, and only then did he register that this wasn't the same as it had been. She couldn't find the akuma? Ladybug always knew where the akuma was.

"Did you try your lucky charm?"

She shook her head. "No. I…never use my lucky charm until I'm totally out of tricks. It's…all I have to help me."

He hated himself.

"You don't need any other help," he said, but he knew it was a lie. He knew it because she really was lighter against him, more fragile. Her waist was so small.

"Chat, we need—"

He spotted Drop Out. "Down there. I think I see something in his back pocket."

Actually, he didn't "think" he saw it. He definitely saw something. Probably a report card or something. Why hadn't Ladybug noticed?

"What can he do other than the black hole thing?" he asked her.

"If he whacks you on the head, you lose the most important lessons you learned in school." She pointed to a civilian j-walking across a street. "See how that guy just crossed without even looking?"

Chat winced as a cab swerved around the guy. "Okay, yeah, so we only need to confront him and get that thing in his back pocket. Easy. We get down there, I watch your back while you tie him up, we grab the report card, and done. You don't even have to use your lucky charm."

She choked on a response. Was Ladybug…trying not to cry? He had to get this over with. He couldn't stick around. He couldn't see her upset like this.

God. He had to find Marinette. He hoped she hadn't been victimized.

"Look, are you okay with the plan or not? I'm only here because I'm looking for someone."

She made an awful noise, but nodded, so he angled them down to the street where Drop Out was working on a crowd. It went exactly as planned. Drop Out barely had time for a villainous laugh before Ladybug had him tied up. Just like Chat had expected. She snatched the paper out of the guy's back pocket.

"An expulsion letter," she said. She tore it up, and that was that. The black akuma flew out of the letter, Ladybug captured it easily, and—miraculous—it was all back to normal.

Which meant he had to go. He ran for an alley.

But she ran, too, and grabbed his arm before he could get away. "Wait, please, Chat. We really need to talk. I want to tell you who I am. Please. Give me a chance."

He stared at her. He'd always wanted to know Ladybug's identity, hadn't he? Except now he had other things he wanted. Not to get Ladybug hurt again. Not to get Marinette hurt again. And maybe…to love someone who really knew him. Not someone who hadn't wanted to get to know him.

And Ladybug hadn't wanted to get to know him.

Her eyes were so blue. Ocean blue. Beseeching him to stay. "Please. Let's just talk. I'll tell you everything. I can't do this without you."

"You've been doing fine without me," he said, knowing it wasn't true. Her face said it wasn't true. This fight with Drop Out said it wasn't true.

But…he was angry with Ladybug. He hadn't even realized before. Furious even. He'd almost hurt her. He'd loved her and all he'd wanted was to be himself with her and she'd demanded secrecy, even when he thought she might be feeling things.

He'd snapped.

He'd been akumatized.

"I'm not fine," she said. "And I need to tell you…you have to give me a chance to—"

"Stop."

It was all he had wanted, of course. For her to tell him everything. And maybe that's what she wanted now. But he didn't want it now. He didn't want this life now. He wanted to be Adrien, whose life was already hectic and hazardous enough without having to worry about saving Paris all the time with a partner who probably didn't love him. Not like Marinette could have.

"Chat Noir," Ladybug whispered. "I am so sorry. I never meant—"

It hurt. He couldn't do this. It hurt too much. And he did still love Ladybug. Angry or not. Hurt or not. He loved her like crazy. He loved her so much he couldn't think straight with her. He loved her too much for it to be sane.

She was crying. Silent, hot tears falling from her big eyes, and he hated it. But…

"I can't do this," he said. "I almost hurt you."

"I know, but—"

"I only wanted to know who you were. You could have trusted me. Now…" Marinette was missing. He needed to find her. Soon. As soon as possible. Ladybug was right here, though, and so hurt herself. And she did need help…but what he remembered from that night...what he had done... Because he loved her.

"I know, Chat. I do trust you. I—"

"I love you too much." He pulled his arm away easily from a grip that had weakened. "It makes me too vulnerable. I know you don't want to do this alone, but I'm not a good partner for you. I wanted to hurt you that night, Ladybug."

She squeezed her eyes shut and then wiped tears out of them. "I have to tell you something."

"What if I don't want you to?"

She shook her head. "But I have to at least…the akuma. I didn't catch it. That night—"

"What?" He felt like his breath had been taken away. "What do you mean you didn't catch it? You had to have caught it. If you didn't capture it…"

Chat had never seen Ladybug look so sad. So defeated. He had never felt so defeated himself.

"If you didn't capture the akuma," he repeated. "Then…"

"It's still out there," she whispered.

"And it could multiple," he said.

She nodded.

"Then I really can't stay. No matter what."

She shook her head vigorously. "Please, Chat. Don't be afraid. You don't have to give in to negative emotion. I need you, and—"

He backed away from her. "But don't you see? As long as I'm afraid I can hurt you, that negative emotion is always going to be there. I can't live in a world where I might be the person who destroys you. I would never be able to live with myself…"

"You're destroying me by not being here," she said.

"But at least you have a chance this way."

He couldn't watch those tears fall. He couldn't see what he was doing to her, and she had stopped begging. Stopped responding. She was only crying now. Sobbing now. Quietly. So quietly.

"We could work out a system," he said softly. "I know you're tired. I don't want this all to fall on you. We just...can't work together. Because I need to let you go. I can't help you. Not feeling this way. Not with an akuma…"

She sank down to the ground and he felt awful.

"You won't have to do it all," he promised her. "And maybe one day, we can work together again. When I…don't feel this way."

Her shoulders were shaking. His heart was breaking again. Always. His heart was always breaking over Ladybug.

"We'll alternate. From now on. So you can at least get some rest. Can you live with that?"

She looked up at him. She looked terrible and small and sad and defeated, and she nodded at him.

"Do you want to know who I am, though?" she asked, so quietly. Almost inaudible.

Did he want to know? Did he want to know the girl under the mask? The person who was crumbling because he was too weak to love someone without putting that person in danger?

The person he needed to learn to unlove so that they could keep working together?

"I'll tell you," she said. "No more secrets."

He closed his eyes and said, "No." Then he leapt away.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine...but if Zag ever wanted to hire me, I would be SO THERE.

* * *

Chapter 15 - Nearly Marichat

Marinette's tears were mixing with an oily puddle of sludge near her feet as she sobbed more uncontrollably than she'd ever before. Things had been bad when Chat had first disappeared. Things had been worse when he didn't reappear. But this … this was the worst she'd ever felt in her entire life. This was her stomach shaking with cold fear, her chest tightened, her heart racing. This was her body deciding that what had happened was so bad—so life-threatening—that it should direct blood flow away from unnecessary extremities, like her fingers and toes, and toward her more important organs, like her heart and lungs. But it wasn't helping. She could barely breathe as her body convulsed with gut-wrenching sobs.

She'd lost him. Completely. It didn't matter if he ever decided to fight as her partner again. He didn't want to know who she was anymore. He didn't want to know the girl under the mask. He wanted to forget he'd ever loved her.

He wanted to take away the vulnerability that was love and replace it with the more iron-clad strength of anonymity.

Except that she knew now—knew with all her heart and all her mind—that there was nothing stronger than love. That anonymity she'd protected so long was true weakness. It was uncertainty and fear controlling them, preventing them from being truly together.

She'd been so incredibly foolish. Why hadn't she just told him her name when he'd asked for it long ago? And it seemed _so_ long ago now. How many many months had passed between when he'd loved her and when he'd decided he was more dangerous to her as a partner than leaving her to fight on her own?

And the worst part was that he still loved her, yet he distrusted her so much that he was giving up on that love. Giving up on her. Giving up on them.

It was never going to be okay. She was never going to be able to do this without him. They couldn't alternate. He couldn't capture the akumas without her. She couldn't live up to Ladybug's name on her own, either. She needed him, and he was gone, and it was all because of all the secrets she'd tried to keep from him.

Secrets. That was the problem. Horrible, terrible secrets that crawled through her heart and his like poisonous vines. Secrets that were mortally dangerous to keep. Secrets that had destroyed him and were destroying her …

 _Alone and in the dark?_

A whispered voice settled in her head.

"Marinette, you must calm down," Tikki urged. "Your emotions are too negative. You're putting yourself at risk."

 _Those you trust and love don't want you to share your secrets with them? But you need to give them answers, don't you?_

"Marinette, please," Tikki begged. "Resist it! Think about all the good things you have in your life. Your parents! Alya and Nino. Adrien."

Adrien. Who was probably worried sick about her right now. Who probably thought she'd left his place because she was angry at him. Who had asked her to leave open the possibility of "them."

"But he doesn't know I'm Ladybug." She'd cried herself out of tears, but the sobs hadn't stopped. "If he knew, then he would understand why I just can't love him the way I love Chat Noir. He wouldn't care about me anymore."

 _You need to tell the truth._

Tikki landed on her hand and looked up at her with enormous eyes. "Marinette, there is an akuma out there waiting to find these exact emotions. I know this hurts, but you have to find a positive emotion somewhere. Something to outweigh this hurt."

"Like what, Tikki? Everything hurts inside me."

"Chat is back, Marinette, and he still loves you."

"He doesn't want to love me."

"He was hurt. He's afraid. But he's back. And you know what that means, don't you?"

"No." Marinette tried to find something good inside her, but everything that wasn't hurt just felt so empty. "I don't know what it means, Tikki. I don't know anything."

"It means things can change," Tikki said. "It means he's afraid of hurting you, not of being Chat Noir. That's a big step. Tonight was the first time you've seen each other in months. You need to give him more than one meeting to come around."

"He'll never come around."

"You didn't think he'd ever come back at all, but he did that."

"He said he loves me too much. It makes him too vulnerable. He can't be my partner if he loves me like that."

Tikki nuzzled Marinette's shoulder. "He said he loves you, Marinette. I know you're hurt by all the rest, but you have to hang on to that. It's the most important thing. _He loves you._ "

"Love isn't always forever."

"Marinette, you trust me, don't you?"

Marinette nodded.

"You know you're not my first Ladybug. I've seen a lot of Ladybugs. I've seen a lot of reveals."

"Yes, but Tikki—"

"Trust me, Marinette. Your Chat isn't the kind who is going to be able to just turn off how much he loves you. He's _always_ going to love you."

Marinette's sobs finally slowed. "Do you…really think that?"

"I know it," Tikki said. "Now, let's go home and get some hot tea and cookies."

"You know, Tikki, I love you, too," Marinette told her little friend. "I'm really lucky to have you."

"And I, you," Tikki said. "And I'm so proud of you for not giving in to the negative emotions you were just feeling. Home?"

Marinette opened her purse for Tikki to slip in. "Home."

* * *

Adrien was a mess and his tears were clouding his vision as he tried as Chat Noir to navigate through streets that should have been familiar, looking for Marinette, who he couldn't find anywhere, and thinking about Ladybug.

She'd wanted to tell him who she was.

He'd told her no.

She'd been falling apart right in front of him, begging him to let her tell him everything, and he'd been so angry, scared, and hurt that he'd refused.

Chat Noir had just told the girl he loved more than anything or anyone else that he needed to unlove her.

Why had he done that?

And why was he going to Marinette's house instead of going back to look for Ladybug? What was wrong with him that he was such a mess? Neither Ladybug nor Marinette deserved a guy like that. They were both so much better.

But that didn't stop him from landing on Marinette's balcony and pacing back and forth for twenty minutes before a light finally turned on in the room below.

Thank God. He hadn't been sure Marinette was okay.

He still wasn't sure she was okay when she climbed out onto the balcony with a face that seemed absolutely stricken.

"Chat Noir?"

Had she been crying? Her eyes were bloodshot, her nose was red, her voice sounded scratchy.

"What are you doing here?"

"You saved my life that night," he said, though the words came out of nowhere. "What were you doing there?" He hadn't thought about it in a while, but that was the last time Marinette had seen him as Chat Noir. It had been right after that he'd stopped transforming, and it had been partly because he was afraid of hurting her. But now, thanks to Adrien, he knew that he'd hurt Marinette anyway. He knew, because he knew Marinette was in love with him.

She didn't answer his question with words, but her eyes said so much. He'd always thought Ladybug had killer eyes, but Marinette's were almost as deep blue. And she was such a beautiful, loving person. Her heart was so wide. She wouldn't have kept secrets from him.

He could trust her, couldn't he?

Because she loved all of him, didn't she? Or at least, she had the ability to love all of him.

But he'd had Ladybug's waist in his hands not half an hour ago, and he still knew exactly how that felt. Exactly how it had always felt. He and Ladybug. Always in sync. Always the perfect team. Always there for each other, except when he screwed it all up.

Marinette took one step toward him and lifted her hand into the air. "Chat," she whispered.

He didn't know what to say to her.

He did know what he needed from her.

He took four steps forward fast and caught her in his hands. She froze and her eyes were the size of planets as he felt her body quiver. He slid one hand up the plain of her back, pressed his fingers into her waist with the other, closed his eyes, and tried to understand why no matter how much he wanted to focus solely on Marinette, Ladybug was always at the top of his mind.

"Marinette," he said, more hoarsely than he should have. "I want…can I…"

Could he what? Play with her heart? Test his lips on hers? Why was he doing this to himself? To her?

Her heart was beating so hard in her chest. He could feel it pound against his hand, now on the back of her shoulder.

She was so delicate.

She was looking so far into his eyes.

He felt his lips brush hers before he realized he'd tilted his head down. One brush. Two. Before he put motion into his mouth against hers. Before he felt her mouth move with a tremor against his. Then he was kissing her. Pulling her into him. Listening for sounds in her throat that would tell him how she felt about this. For the smallest whimper she made, that told him she didn't know how to stop it either. For the gasp of breath they allowed each other to have for a microsecond before lips were against lips again, and then an opening led to more and he wanted to stay right here and kiss this girl for the entire rest of his life.

Then Marinette put her hand against his chest—it was such an innocuous gesture—and it made him think of Ladybug doing the same. Always pushing him away, but there she was. Ladybug would never leave him alone, even as Marinette let him in. Ladybug was always on his mind.

He grasped for Marinette's wrist and pulled away.

"I…shouldn't be here," he said.

"Please, stay," she said. "I need to—"

"No. No. No." He backed toward the edge of the balcony, disgusted with himself. "You need someone else, Marinette. You need someone who will only love you. Not someone who's also in love…"

"With Ladybug," she said. "I know. But Chat—"

"She's never going to love me. Not the way I love her—"

"No, Chat, that's—"

"And I can't love you because I love her so much."

"Chat, you have to listen to me—"

He was panicking. He couldn't think straight. He shouldn't have come here. He shouldn't have made friends with her again as Adrien. He needed to be a professional. To go back to working with Ladybug and never again flirt with her and never again bother Marinette either. It wasn't fair to either of them.

"Chat, I am begging you," Marinette said, and there were tears in her eyes. He could tell. It made him hurt. He made her hurt. He constantly constantly made her hurt.

"I need to go. And I need you to let me go," he told her. "Because that's what's best for you." Then he leaped away from the balcony as fast as he could.

He'd been right from the beginning. Ladybug was better off without him and so was Marinette.

* * *

Alya was never going to forgive Adrien F*%&ing Agreste for whatever he'd done to Marinette.

Never. Ever.

And she was waiting for him when he finally got out of the shower, _an hour and a half_ after Nino said he'd gotten in. Nino was pacing back and forth, saying things Alya had never heard him say about Adrien before. Bad things. Things she never thought she'd agree with.

But now…

Adrien's hair was wet, and he looked like he'd been in his stupid shower, sobbing like a baby, and she didn't give a damn.

"Marinette called me," she told him flatly. "From her mom's cell phone. She asked me to bring her things to her and to tell you she won't be going with you to the show tomorrow."

Adrien's shoulders sagged and he looked away from Alya and to his bed behind them.

"Adrien, you need to tell us what's going on, man," Nino said, stepping up by Alya so they could face their friend together.

"Nothing," Adrien said. "It's better if she doesn't want to go to the show."

"Oh no," Alya said. "It is not _nothing_. Marinette Dupain-Cheng does not run away from _your_ house, without her things, disappear for an hour, and then call from her mom's phone to ask me to bring her things to you instead of her retrieving them. That is not my Marinette."

He shrugged. "Maybe you don't know her as well as you think."

Alya felt her top pop off at that. "What!?" she yelled. "She is my best friend! I know everything about her! And I know that _you'd_ have to run over her cat before she'd stop wanting to talk to you. So what did you do?"

"Does Marinette have a cat?" Nino said, somewhat unhelpfully.

"It was a metaphor," Alya snapped, still glaring at Adrien. "And I need to know what you did that was so bad, Adrien. I can't fix this until I know."

Adrien closed his eyes for a long time without answering.

"Adrien, come on, man. What is going on between you and Marinette?" Nino said.

He opened his eyes again. "Fine. I killed her cat." He glared at Alya. "Metaphorically. And I don't want to talk about it, and I think it was a mistake to think I could try to be friends again with you guys."

Alya's mouth dropped open.

"Excuse me?" Nino said. "Are you canceling our friendship?"

Adrien walked over to where Marinette's backpack was still sitting, picked it up, and brought it back to Alya. "You're all better off without me. Especially her." He looked at the carpet. "Tell her I think it would be best if we didn't see each other again."

That was not the outcome Alya wanted. "Tell her yourself!"

Adrien went to his bedroom door and opened it. "You should both leave." He squeezed his eyes shut briefly again. "Trust me. This is all my fault. I'm nothing but a catastrophe for everyone I'm around. I destroy everything I touch. I don't want to hurt you, too."

"You don't destroy everything you touch, man," Nino said, now clearly more concerned again than angry.

But Adrien was Nino's best friend. Alya was Marinette's, and Marinette was completely broken. So Alya was still angry. She stalked toward Adrien. "You know what I think?" she snarled. "I think deciding to give up on your friendships because you think you have some magical ability to destroy everything you touch is probably the most narcissistic thing I've ever heard you say. You are not that important Adrien Agreste. What makes you think you have the ability to destroy anything you want?"

"Bad luck," Adrien said without any touch of humor.

She wasn't ready to let this go yet. "That's not a good excuse. If you think you've damaged something, the right thing to do is try to fix it, not give up on it."

"I respectfully disagree," he said. "Someone like me does not fix things. That's not my specialty."

Nino touched Alya's arm. "I think we should go, Alya. He doesn't want us here, and we have other friends who need us more, don't you think?"

Alya held Marinette's backpack to her chest. Nino was right. "You're not the person I thought you were, Adrien," she said.

"Yeah. I know," he said, and then he turned away like he didn't care at all what they thought about him anymore.

So Alya and Nino left, and Alya held it together until they were a block away from Agreste Mansion, and then she finally stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and started crying.

Nino hugged her. "You know Adrien would never have purposely done something to hurt Marinette's feelings, right? This is probably just all some big misunderstanding."

"That didn't seem like a misunderstanding." Alya sniffed. "It seemed like Adrien shutting us all out again and starting with Marinette."

Nino hummed and stroked her hair.

"What, don't you agree with me?" Alya said.

He paused.

"Nino?"

"Actually, I have a theory," he said slowly. "About Adrien and Marinette and what might be happening here."

Alya leaned far enough away to be able to see his face. "What's your theory?"

He scrunched up his nose. "You're going to think it's crazy."

"What's happening with them right now is already crazy. What could make it any weirder?"

Nino nodded. "Well, I was thinking...what if Adrien is Chat Noir?"

"What!?"

"And Marinette is Ladybug?"

"No!"

"Just...think about it."

"But then, do you think they each know who the other is?"

Nino shook his head. "No. And I think maybe that's why things have gotten so weird."

"So what should we do?"

"It's just a theory," Nino said.

But Alya was an investigator. "It's a theory that needs to be explored," she told him. "Right away."

Nino hugged her again. "Let me know how I can help. I don't like seeing them this way."

"Me neither," Alya said.

* * *

Marinette was sinking in negative emotions. Hurt, betrayal, frustration, fear, anger, disappointment, guilt, shame. If it was there, she was feeling it, and it didn't even matter that she was in her parents' living room, surrounded by people who really cared about her. All she could hear was that voice in her head, telling her what she could do about all of this.

Alone _even when you're not._

 _He loves you, but he won't let you tell you his secret._

 _Don't you need the truth, my dear?_

 _Don't you want to go after it?_

"Marinette, honey, you can control this," her mom said.

"Please, Marinette, don't let Hawkmoth make you a victim," Tikki said.

"My daughter can handle anything," her dad said.

Marinette held her hands to her temples. "I just don't understand. Chat always wanted to know. If he would just let me tell him now…"

She'd told them what had happened. Or at least some of what had happened. She'd left a few details about the kissing out because she really didn't think her parents needed to hear everything, and things had gotten...steamy there for a hot second. Marinette could still feel his lips against hers. She wished she couldn't. If she could just undo what had happened there, she might not be feeling quite so horrible.

 _Answers are the only way, aren't they, dear?_

 _Don't you need to tell him?_

"It's going to be okay," Tikki said. "He'll come around."

"He did come around," Marinette said. "And then he left. Again. Without letting me tell him anything."

"Just take a deep breath, Marinette," her mom said. "You can work through this."

"Eat another cookie," her dad said. "The chocolate will help."

 _Do you need air or another cookie? Really? No, you need the truth…_

"I need Chat Noir," she said. "I need him as my partner. I need him to know who I am. I need him to know the truth."

"No, Marinette," Tikki said.

Marinette pulled her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth, fighting as hard as she could not to give in.

"Marinette, you are stronger than you think. You don't have to give in to negative emotion. You can fight this," Tikki told her.

"But it hurts so much," Marinette said.

"I know," Tikki said. "But just because it hurts, doesn't mean you can't handle it."

"Working through negative emotion isn't about not feeling it," her mother told her. "It's about feeling it and being stronger than it anyway."

"And you are, Marinette," her dad said. "You're Ladybug."

"Let it hurt if you have to," Tikki told her. "But don't let it take over."

Marinette breathed out. She couldn't hear the voice. "I think I'm okay," she told her family.

"You're amazing, Marinette," Tikki said.

"I wish I felt that way," Marinette said.

"I know," Tikki said.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

So it dawned on me today that Zag sells Ladybug merchandise and that they might be selling replica Ladybug earrings. I don't know why this has never occurred to me before, but it hasn't. Which means I only recently started exploring the Ladybug merchandise. Wow. If I had kids, they would have so much Ladybug stuff. As it is, I'm seriously considering sending my husband a link to the Ladybug earrings. I'm sure there are a lot of women asking their husband for stuff like diamond earrings for Christmas this year, but who wants diamond earrings when they can be miraculous holders instead, right?


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I wish.

* * *

 **Chapter 16 - Fashion Disaster**

Adrien was at his father's fashion show alone. Sort of. Chloé Bourgeois was with him, and honestly, as far as events he'd been stuck alone at with Chloé, this one wasn't the worst.

Just.

Chloé wasn't Marinette, and that was making Adrien feel like he was the only person left in the universe. Or at least in Le Grand Paris, where the fashion show had taken place.

"Are you okay, Adrikins?" Chloé said, slightly softer than normal. She put her hand on his. "The show went well, don't you think? All your father's new pieces were great."

"Yeah," Adrien said absently. The new client—a partnership between well-known model Pierre Grande and a fashion designer from Germany named Hans Becker—seemed very pleased with the new line from Gabriel Agreste. Gabriel was chatting with Pierre right now about spring trends.

"You don't seem okay." Chloé squeezed his hand. "You can tell me. I'm always here for you, Adrien."

Marinette would always have been there for him if he hadn't messed that all up. He'd woken up this morning with a mega-dose of regret, and the first thing he'd done was text Marinette to see if she was okay. After all, she didn't know he was the one who'd shown up on her balcony last night. She didn't know he's been the one crushing her.

He winced. Kissing Marinette had been the best and worst thing he'd ever felt in his life. It was so good. So incredibly, wonderfully, good. And it was also so wrong. On so many many levels. He should never have done it. There was no way he could tell her who he was now. Ever. She'd never forgive him. _He'd_ never forgive him. He'd done something incredibly selfish, and now Marinette was as broken as Ladybug, and she wasn't returning any of his texts or calls, and he was wrecked over both women.

He'd actually dreamed about both of them last night. For the first part of the dream, Marinette and Ladybug had been married to him. Both of them. And they'd come in and out of the dream interchangeably. One minute Marinette was in some dream kitchen with him, and they were making pancakes together. The next, Ladybug was eating breakfast with him. Then Marinette was talking to him about their pet hamster. Then Ladybug was saying they should have dinner with Nino and Alya.

Speaking of which, Nino wasn't returning Adrien's texts either, and Adrien had sent several to his best friend with profuse apologies. He'd been terrible to Nino and Alya last night, and he wasn't sure if they were ever going to forgive him, either. While Nino was ignoring him, Alya was sending nasty texts demanding that Adrien "leave my best friend and boyfriend alone, you nasty f*&$ing cat killer."

Chloé was still waiting, watching Adrien intently, and for one of the first times in his life, he found himself thinking about how sincere Chloé often looked when she was talking to him. Yes, she had a tendency to say horrible, shallow things. But she seemed to genuinely care about him. Also, she was a neutral party, and she was still talking to him without calling him names.

"Do you want to go somewhere we can talk?" she said, like she was reading his mind.

"Yeah. Maybe that would be good," he told her. And that's how Adrien ended up in the lobby of the Le Grand Paris, sitting on an uncomfortable purple tufted sofa, telling Chloé in very vague terms all the hundreds of ways he'd gone wrong with Marinette.

"I guess this explains why you never wanted to date me," Chloé said, after he'd verbally vomited out everything he thought he could without giving away anything related to Chat Noir or Ladybug.

That made him feel even worse. "I never meant to hurt you, Chloé," he said. "You're one of my oldest friends."

Chloé had been sitting with her knees angled toward his. Now she turned them the other way. "But it's always been Marinette, hasn't it? I knew it. At least I've been jealous of the right person."

Adrien blushed hot. "Actually, it hasn't always been Marinette. It's only recently that she's become important to me. I mean, we've been friends for a while, but I kind of had a thing for someone else that I…erm…modeled with for a long time." He sighed. "Did you know Marinette had a crush on me at some point? I can't believe I missed it."

"Everyone knew Marinette had a crush on you," Chloé said. "She wasn't exactly subtle."

"There are a lot of girls who've been especially nice to me," he said carefully.

"Yes, but not who were as obvious as Marinette. Or, probably, me." She gave him a tight-lipped smile. "So what are you going to do?"

He plucked at a loose button on the couch.

"You have no idea, do you?" Chloé turned her knees back toward him and picked up his hand one more time. "Look, I don't really like Marinette, but I've known her for a long time, too. If she's in love with someone else, you might need to let it run its course. She's pretty stubborn when she's fallen for someone."

"But I don't even know if I want her to like me anymore. Maybe it would be better if she got over me _and_ the other guy and moved on to someone nice. Half the guys in the school have had crushes on Marinette. There are plenty of better candidates." As he said it, he realized it was true. And there were guys who didn't go to school with them, either. Like Luka, who was an extremely cool, extremely nice guy who did not live a double-life as a superhero.

"I…shouldn't be admitting this. But…I'm not sure there are better candidates for Marinette. You guys would probably make—" Chloé made a face like she'd just swallowed a bug "—a super cute couple."

"You think so? But right now things are so messed up."

Chloé flipped her hand out. "So be there for her. As her friend. Include her in things you do, but don't ask her on dates. Text her sometimes, but not all the time. Do what you would do with me. Or Nino. Eventually, she'll get over the other guy."

Except, he thought, that the other guy is also me.

"And if—"

Adrien thought he knew what Chloé was about to say, but she didn't get a chance to say it because Gorilla rushed into the lobby right then.

Adrien stood up quickly. "What is it? Are those guys back?"

"Larissa," Gorilla grunted. "Akumatized. And she's after Mr. Agreste. She's calling herself Fashion Disaster."

An akumatized victim. Adrien had promised Ladybug he'd help with some of the burden of handling akumatized victims, and he was right here. He could probably contain Fashion Disaster long before Ladybug arrived.

"He's in the reception area of the hotel restaurant," Adrien said, and he turned to Chloé, already trying to think of a reason to tell her that she should probably head up to her room while he transformed into Chat Noir, without, of course, telling her that last bit.

"There's a coat room behind the reception desk," she said to him. "You should hide there while I go find Daddy."

"Uh, sure," he said, as she grabbed his arm and hauled him toward the reception desk.

"If things don't work out with Marinette, you know where to find me," she said as she shoved him into the coat room. "If they do…" She made a face again. "Well…I'll try to learn to be nice to Marinette. Because you're one of my oldest friends, too, Adrien."

It was probably one of the nicest things Adrien had ever heard Chloé say.

Plagg zipped out of Adrien's pocket as soon as the door was closed. "So…are we going to hang out in here while Ladybug does the work?"

"I promised Ladybug we could alternate with the villains," Adrien said.

"But you can't capture the akumas," Plagg reminded him. "This probably isn't a good idea."

"I can contain the villains and make her work easier," Adrien said. "I'll send her a message and let her know when I'm done with this one."

"It's not safe to work alone," Plagg said.

"You know how I feel about this," Adrien said. "Are you ready?"

"Never," Plagg said, and Adrien said:

"Plagg, claws out!"

* * *

As the owner of the bee miraculous, Chloé wasn't always the right person to handle an akumatized villain. Most of the time, she waited until Ladybug called her to show up. That was how she showed respect to Ladybug. Queen Bee didn't need to get in the way when Ladybug could handle something better on her own.

But an akumatized victim calling herself "Fashion Disaster" was Queen Bee's wheelhouse, so after she made sure Adrien Agreste was safely tucked away in a coat room in the hotel, she transformed, and she was expecting to be the first person to great Fashion Disaster at Le Grand Paris.

Her expectation was not met. Chat Noir somehow got there before she did.

She hadn't seen Chat Noir in months. So she did the thing she thought was most appropriate. She kicked him. In the gut. And said, "Where have you been? Ladybug needs you!"

Chat grimaced. "I know," he said. "I'm sorry."

"You're _sorry_!" Queen Bee said. "You should be more than sorry! You should be explaining how you were captured by Hawkmoth and forced into slavery for the last several months or something, because if this was your choice—"

"I'm sorry," he said again. "It was my choice, and I don't have a good excuse except to tell you that this is my way of protecting Ladybug."

"By abandoning her?"

A girl in the tackiest get-up Queen Bee had ever seen blasted through the doors of Le Grand Paris.

"Gabriel!" she crooned. "Where are you? Fashion Disaster is here for you, and your days of smart suits are over!"

" _What_ are you wearing?" Queen Bee said to the poor girl. "Are those shoes from summer 2016?"

The villain was carrying a gaudy glittery clutch. She threw it at Queen Bee, who dodged the clutch, causing it to hit an upholstered chair behind them in the lobby. The chair immediately went from being a classy off-white fabric to mustard yellow with huge floral splotches.

Fashion Disaster laughed as her clutch reappeared in her hand. "Watch out, Queen Bee! You're next, then Gabriel."

She flung the clutch out again, but Chat Noir batted it away with his baton. "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

"Oh, Chat Noir? You showed up just for me?" Fashion Disaster looked Chat up and down. "Hmm…Michelle Pheiffer called. She wants her costume back. But you can keep the baton. I don't think anyone's going to want that thing now. If it even works."

Chat held his baton up. It was now striped like a cheerleader's baton and glitterized. There were ribbons coming out the end. He swung it out and it lengthened just like normal. "I've never had self-image problems." He rotated the pole toward Fashion Disaster. "But you sure look like you have."

Fashion Disaster jumped the first time but not the second as Chat swung his pole back and caught her by the ankles. She fell, howled, and got up again, this time chucking the clutch straight at Chat, who batted it away again only to almost hit Queen Bee.

"Hey! Don't touch me with that!" she yelped.

"What's the problem?" Fashion Disaster taunted. "Can't handle the thought of being any less than perfectly dressed? Wait until I get to Gabriel Agreste. He's going to wish he didn't have clothes on at all!"

"I highly doubt that," Chat said. "Gabriel Agreste has class. Queen Bee, can you talk her out of this bad attitude?"

That was what Queen Bee did best, but this time she thought she might have misunderstood the villain. "I don't know. I don't think the negative emotion is actually about how she looks. Or why would Gabriel Agreste be her target?"

"You're right," Fashion Disaster said, hurling the clutch at Queen Bee again. "And you should get out of my way. Gabriel thinks he's so good he can just fire anyone he doesn't like? I'll show him who he fired. And I'll make it so no one will ever want to wear anything he touches again!"

"Oh….so you're just ticked off because you think the guy shouldn't have canned you?" Chat rolled his eyes, and Queen Bee noticed something hanging around Fashion Disaster's neck.

"Chat! She's wearing an employee badge! It must be from sometime when she worked for Gabriel Agreste!"

"The akuma must be there," Chat said. He used the baton one more time to snag the lanyard Fashion Disaster's employee badge was hanging from. It snapped off her neck and the akuma flew out.

"Where's Ladybug?" Queen Bee said. "Only she can capture the akuma, right?"

Chat Noir just stood there, watching as the akuma flew higher and higher.

"Where is Ladybug?" Queen Bee demanded again. "We can't let the akuma just go."

Chat's shoulders drooped and his tail hung down by his ankles. "I told her we could alternate. Now we just need to…seal up the room or something so the akuma can't get very far. Then I'll send her a message to let her know the akuma's here."

"Seal up the room!?" Queen Bee looked around the lobby of Le Grand Paris. It was not the kind of thing you could seal up. " _That_ was your plan? How are we going to do that?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "But I…can't talk to Ladybug right now. So this is the only way."

Queen Bee tried to figure out where the akuma had even gone. Was it still here? Or had it already flown away? Also, the girl who'd been Fashion Disaster was coming to and she didn't look happy.

"What happened?" she screeched. "This was supposed to be my revenge against Gabriel."

Chat put his face in his hands. So he was useless right now. Great. Queen Bee approached the girl cautiously herself. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

The girl was breathing heavily with her shoulders hunched. "I lost out on the Gabriel mentorship program five years ago. I was light years ahead of the guy who won. He could barely sew a pair of pants, but he had an inside connection. So he got the mentorship and I lost everything."

"Everything?" Queen Bee knew the _Gabriel_ program was prestigious, but her own mother was a very successful fashion designer, too. There were plenty of places for budding designers to learn outside of the Agreste empire.

"I couldn't find anyone who liked anything in my portfolio," the girl said. "It was my one chance, and Gabriel Agreste gave it to some other student. That guy's an accountant now. He didn't have nearly the talent I had."

"If Mr. Agreste created this many problems for you, maybe he wasn't someone you'd have wanted to work for anyway," Queen Bee said. "If you think about it like that, not getting into the program could have been a blessing in disguise."

The girl shook her head adamantly. "No. It wasn't. It was the start of a whole series of rejections, and none of the mentees who've gotten the position since then have been worthy. This year's mentee even quit the program. After I get my revenge on Gabriel, I'm going after her."

Chat finally pulled his face from his hands. "You can't. That girl's…" He paused awkwardly.

"Just a student?" Queen Bee finished for him.

"I'll do whatever I want!" the girl yelled as she got up. "And no one will be able to stop me. The akuma will find me again, and I'll have more power than you can ever imagine!"

She ran out of the hotel after that.

"Well, that was…" Queen Bee said as she and Chat watched the doors close behind the girl.

"An epic failure. I know," Chat said. "The akuma got away. And now there's some girl who's pissed off at Gabriel Agreste, and the akuma will probably find her again soon."

Queen Bee turned to Chat. "You know, whatever's up with you and Ladybug, you really need to fix it. She's exhausted from trying to handle Paris basically by herself, and you can't do any of this on your own. You just made it worse releasing the akuma before she could get her to catch it."

"I know. I'm nothing without her," he said grimly.

"What? That's not what—" Queen Bee tilted her head at Chat. "Wait, _are_ you having some kind of self-image problem? Because Ladybug isn't better off without you. Trust me. I've helped her as much as I can the last few months, but I really am nothing compared to you. And I don't mean that as an insult to me. She needs her partner back. What's going on with you?"

Chat's tail swished back and forth. "She'll probably be here soon," he said. "Tell her I'm sorry if you see her."

* * *

Ladybug wasn't prepared to face the situation she found in Le Grand Paris, a place she hadn't wanted to be today at all. When she arrived, Gabriel and Adrien Agreste were in the lobby, talking to Queen Bee, who saw her immediately and waved her over to them.

"What happened?" Ladybug said tiredly, approaching the trio even though the Agrestes were exactly the reason she did not want to be at Le Grand Paris.

"Chat Noir showed up," Queen Bee said. "He thought he could help you by handling the villain for you. But all that he managed was to release the akuma and not capture it."

Great. Exactly what Ladybug needed. She took a deep breath. "Then we just have to wait for the akuma to find a victim again. I can handle things on my own after that. Like I have been all this time."

But she couldn't. She knew she couldn't. She was at her very last thread.

"You shouldn't have to do this alone. I told Chat so," Queen Bee said.

"Thanks, Queen Bee," Ladybug said. "But Chat doesn't want to fight alongside me. He's been pretty clear about that. I have no choice."

"But he did show up today, didn't he?" Adrien Agreste said. "He's not trying to hurt you." He was dressed up for the fashion show Marinette had refused to attend. Black pants that fit too well, lime green shirt under a black jacket cut just right for an Agreste. He looked great, except for his face. There, Ladybug noticed that Adrien's eyes, which should have been brought out by the lime green, were sad and darker than normal.

She hated seeing Adrien looking sad, but she didn't have the ability to do anything to help him today. She was barely getting along herself. "I'm aware of that," she told him, though. "And it's not something you need to worry about. It's…my fault that Chat Noir doesn't want to come around when I'm on the scene. Something happened because of me, and now Chat thinks he's a danger to me."

Adrien looked shrewdly at her, and it gave her an odd feeling. Had he gotten to know her well enough as Marinette that he could hear some of Marinette in Ladybug's voice or see some of Marinette in her demeanor? Was he catching on?

"Are you sure you're the person at fault?" he asked. "If he thinks he's a danger to you, isn't it more likely that he feels he's done something wrong?"

"Yes, he might. But he hasn't done anything wrong. He doesn't have all the information he needs, and—" She was saying personal things to Adrien as if she was Marinette, not Ladybug. And in front of Gabriel Agreste and Queen Bee. She realized as her brain caught up with her tongue. It was because she was so tired. She'd give herself away if she wasn't more careful. "I'm sorry. This isn't something you need to concern yourself about. You should all get home." She looked at Gabriel Agreste. "Please let me know as soon as possible if—"

"Fashion Disaster," Queen Bee supplied.

"Right, if Fashion Disaster shows back up. I'll come as soon as I can and get that akuma captured. With or without Chat Noir."

"Thank you, Ladybug," Gabriel said. "As always, your efforts to protect Paris, along with me and my son specifically, are appreciated."

Ladybug nodded, and she was about to bug out when Adrien put his hand on her arm and caught her eye.

"Please stay safe, Ladybug," he said with a funny scratch in his voice. "You're…important to all of us. Especially Chat Noir. I know it."

She swallowed a huge lump in her throat. "Thanks for your confidence, Adrien," she said. "I appreciate the support."

* * *

"Ladybug just left the scene," Nino whispered into his phone as he watched Ladybug fling herself out the front doors of Le Grand Paris. "Anything interesting at the back entrance?"

"No," Alya said over the line. "The only people who've come in and out since the Agrestes showed up for their fashion show are hotel employees. No one who would fit the physical description of any of the superheroes."

"But we know Chat Noir was here," Nino said. "And Queen Bee. Is there another way they could have gotten in?"

"Well, everyone in Paris thinks Queen Bee is Chloé," Alya said. "That's hardly a secret at all. It's possible that Queen Bee is friends with Chat Noir, and that they both happened to be at Le Grand Paris when Fashion Disaster came in."

"And Adrien is just really good at hiding?"

"Gabriel Agreste is."

"Either way, Marinette wasn't anywhere near the hotel. So maybe my theory isn't as good as I think."

"Actually, that's where it gets good. Hang on. I'm coming around from the back. See you in a minute."

Nino waited while Alya walked around the hotel to him. They'd staked out positions at Le Grand Paris tonight, knowing that Adrien would be here and that his father had an unfortunate tendency to attract akumatized villains. Alya had followed Ladybug for years, and she'd had no doubt a villain would show up sooner or later if they tracked Adrien and his dad. She was skeptical of the possibility that Adrien might be Chat, though, and she said the thought of Marinette as Ladybug was even weirder.

Nino, however, had had an hour and a half alone in Adrien's room the other day while Marinette was missing to develop his theory. How many times had Adrien and Marinette disappeared at exactly the same times when a villain was around? How often had one of them conveniently been late? How many showers had Adrien taken at super bizarre times?

"Look, I know Marinette wasn't here, and that we don't have proof, but I think we have to keep trying to figure it out," Nino told Alya as she showed up with her nose in her phone.

She shook her head. "No, I-"

"Alya, I just can't believe that Adrien is really that insensitive. The shower thing has to be a cover for something. And Marinette-"

"Stopped texting me right after I sent her the message that I'd seen something about an akumatized villain on the news," Alya said, holding up her phone. "And didn't text me again until Ladybug left Le Grand Paris."

"So that's better evidence than Adrien being here at the same time as Chat Noir?"

"It's at least as good," Alya said. "And if it isn't conclusive, it's certainly highly suspicious. The investigation should continue. We need something more substantial before we can confront them."

"You want to confront them?" That had not been in Nino's plans.

"Sure," Alya said reasonably. "If our best friends are actually superheroes, it can only help them to have a couple people they can confide in. Imagine how much better they could sneak away to save Paris if they had friends covering for them."

"Huh. You're starting to buy into my theory, then?"

Alya took Nino by the arm and began walking with him. "I'm at least having fun investigating with you."

"So do you think I should start responding to Adrien's texts again? I feel bad for him. I mean, I was upset last night, but the guy was obviously stressed about something, and he has tried to apologize."

"Nah, make him sweat. The more nervous he is, the more likely he'll say something to prove our case later when we do talk to him."

"And Marinette?"

Alya tensed up. "She doesn't need to be more nervous. I really don't know what to do about that. If she's Ladybug, I wish she'd tell me. I could help her."

"Yeah, same with Adrien if he's Chat Noir."

"Hey, did you just hear a voice talking to you about secrets?" Alya asked.

Nino was confused. "No. Did you?"

Alya shook her head. "Probably, I'm just imagining things."

Nino patted her hand. "Right. Well, let me know if they say anything interesting to you."

Alya laughed uneasily. "I will. Let me know if you hear them."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The holidays have passed. Thank the miraculouses. Now we can call get back to our regularly scheduled fanfiction...


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I wish.

* * *

 **Chapter 17 - Parental Intervention**

Sabine Cheng was patient but brave, creative but calm, insightful but trustworthy, and extremely skilled at handling whatever challenge having a daughter like Marinette might bring into her life. In short: she was a mom.

This is why she knew instinctively that the situation happening in her kitchen right now required nothing short of several hot cups of coffee and a dozen freshly baked cookies. She brought coffee to the table while Tom sat across from Gabriel Agreste and flipped through a thirty-three-page proposal Gabriel had brought to their meeting. Tom—she knew—still wasn't sure what to think of Gabriel. Sabine was starting to like Gabriel, though. He had a tough exterior, but there was no denying that he had a soft spot for his son.

And he was very concerned about his son right now.

"Take your time reviewing it," Gabriel said. "You'll find it is quite comprehensive, but no doubt you know Ladybug's—ah—Marinette's routines better than I do. This will work best as a collaboration."

"Sabine and I are going to want to _review_ this comprehensively," Tom said. He glanced at the wall clock. "We don't have enough time now. School will be out soon. We'll need at least the evening."

Sabine poured coffee into a cup and passed it to Gabriel. "Oh, I hardly think Gabriel wants us to be rash about this, Tom."

Tom's nostrils flared slightly. "Right. He only wants us to continue to hide the truth from our heartbroken daughter who we are keeping a major secret from."

"As I told you, I've spoken several times with Master Fu. He has hundreds of years of experience with this type of situation. I've seen the statistics. If we interfere directly and tell Adrien and Marinette—"

"I just don't buy it," Tom said. "Do you know how hard it was to watch Marinette after your son showed up on her balcony and … and … "

"Kissed her?" Sabine suggested lightly. Marinette had skimped on those details, but Sabine had an idea of what Chat Noir kissing Marinette might have been like. What had actually happened was probably far more, erm, _sinful_ , than whatever Tom had in mind. Marinette and Adrien weren't children anymore. They were graduating this year. It was a mom skill to be able to remember exactly what a girl's first kiss with someone who wanted something could be like.

"Exactly." Tom grabbed a cookie from the plate and bit into it savagely. " _Kissed_ her. Then left. Without giving her a chance to tell him who she was." He glared at Gabriel Agreste. "I think Marinette has the right to know who's been kissing her and keeping her out fighting akumatized villains by herself while he sits alone in his high-security mansion—"

Gabriel cleared his throat. "I believe it has been established that Adrien is active in the superhero community again."

"He is _active_ , but not with Marinette!" Tom shouted, and Sabine had to get up from the table to pretend to retrieve something so as not to embarrass the two grown men in her kitchen by laughing.

Gabriel straightened his tie. "Yes, well, I believe we can all agree that is a problem. But as long as 'Chat' believes Ladybug is safer without him, he thinks he's doing the right thing."

"Which is why we need to stop all this secrecy."

"With all due respect, Tom, I believe I know my son better than you. Outing them to each other is not the answer."

Sabine sat down, took the proposal from Tom, and began reading the executive summary. She frowned as she read it. Gabriel's plan involved a lot of moving parts and some risks she wasn't happy with. She flipped to a page that explained more about that and sipped her coffee.

Tom snorted. "You don't like it either."

She took another sip of coffee, set down the proposal, and looked up at Gabriel, who was watching her carefully. "I must confess, Gabriel. This plan is quite involved."

"At no point shall anyone be in any real danger," Gabriel said.

"But you want both Adrien and Marinette to believe they're in so much danger together that one of them transforms," Sabine said. "I appreciate your desire to give them a sense of self-determination with regard to the reveal—"

"This isn't self-determination," Tom argued. "This is a forced reveal. If this is the direction you want to go, we should just invite them both to dinner with us and confront them together.

"If you have a less invasive suggestion, please, feel free to submit your own proposal."

Tom's head was going to burst from steam if Sabine didn't take this situation over. "We'll look at your proposal, Gabriel," Sabine said. "And if there isn't anything else?"

"Thank you, Sabine." Gabriel stood up. "There is nothing else in this regard. But, uh, if I might make one more request? I hope it isn't crossing lines, but your daughter has remarkable talent as a budding fashion designer, and as I do have reason to believe she may play a significant role in my son's life … "

"You'd like us to encourage her to rejoin your mentoring program," Sabine said.

Gabriel half-smiled. "Perhaps she could be given fewer responsibilities at the bakery."

Tom was still grumbling about Gabriel's proposal half an hour after he'd left. Sabine put her arms around her husband's neck.

"We have to do something, Tom. You know how this works. There's an akuma out there. Marinette is at risk."

He put his hand on one of hers. "Two akumas. But I just don't want to do something that could get her more hurt. She's sensitive." His voice lowered. "And if all this works out, I'm going to have a conversation with Adrien Agreste."

"We'll invite him to dinner." Sabine turned her hand in Tom's and squeezed. "You can talk to him while you're teaching him to make baguettes."

Tom angled his eyes up to hers. "While I'm teaching him to _make baguettes_?"

"Did that come out the wrong way?"

* * *

Marinette couldn't take it anymore. There were now two akumas loose in Paris that she hadn't captured, and a Chat who was too upset with her to let her know who she was. Alya had been mysteriously busy all week doing something with Nino that apparently related to a school project that Alya said was "top secret." Adrien kept sending her text messages she didn't know how to return.

Even her parents, who'd been so supportive of her as Ladybug, had suddenly turned. They were on her to finish her homework and think about her career. "You won't be Ladybug forever, sweetheart," her mother had said. "And when your time as a superhero is over, you're going to wish you had something to fall back on."

They actually wanted her to go to some additional fashion show that Gabriel Agreste had invited her to—and Adrien had texted her about.

"Just go," her dad had said. "You might as well. Isn't an Agreste fashion show the most likely place for that villain calling herself Fashion Disaster to come back? At least you'll be right there if it happens, then. And maybe it would be good for you to get back into something you used to enjoy so much."

She didn't understand why they were encouraging her like that, but maybe she was more depressed than she realized. She shouldn't have been doing it, but Marinette had also been scouring the video footage she had of her balcony for every time Chat had made a little visit, and it turned out she had coverage of the kiss.

She'd watched more times than she wanted to admit to herself, always looking for a clue that would tell her why he'd done it, why he'd stopped, why she hadn't just yelled out to him who she was. It had her thoughts reeling. Why was Chat so obsessed with Marinette when he supposedly loved Ladybug? What was Marinette to him? Who was she? Why was she more than just a civilian who'd tried to help him? Was it only because she'd been hurt that he thought he cared about her? Did he care about her?

Who was he? When he wasn't Chat?

All that stress and all those secrets, the voice kept telling her. _You need to know the truth. You need to tell the truth._

Tikki kept telling her to be strong, but nothing was getting better, and she was only one girl, and sometimes, when it was all too much, Marinette didn't want Tikki's positivity anymore. She snapped at Tikki one night over exactly that.

"I just can't, Tikki," she said.

"You can, Marinette," Tikki said. "You're Ladybug. You're—"

"Not okay!" she'd said. "Not amazing. And not miraculous! I don't want to be Ladybug anymore. I just want to be done with this! And I can't take being told to be positive and strong anymore. I'm just a teenage girl! I can't always do this. I'm hurt, and I don't know how to fix it, and I shouldn't have to."

Tikki cowered down, and Marinette immediately felt terrible, but Tikki shushed her apologies with an apology of her own.

"I don't know how to do anything but positive," Tikki said. "Plagg's the one you need, really. I've never been as good at handling sadness. Plagg's a better listener."

"I doubt it," Marinette said.

Tikki sniffed. "It's true. Telling someone to stay positive only goes so far. At some point, you need someone who can empathize with how much you hurt instead of just telling you not to." She wrapped her little arms around herself. "I miss Plagg."

* * *

Adrien needed to do something. There were now two akumas free in Paris, they were both there basically because of him, and even though he'd been trying to figure out how to help Ladybug indirectly, he really didn't know how to do it without causing more problems. On top of all that, Nino was texting him again, but it was all weird questions about cats, Alya was also texting him, and it was all even weirder questions about his fencing and Chinese classes, and he and his dad were being interviewed by the police about Larisa.

It was like everyone wanted information from him, and the one person he wanted to talk to, Marinette, was barely returning any of his texts. When his dad told him there was another fashion show coming up, and he hoped perhaps Marinette would consider coming to this one, Adrien practically begged Marinette to come with him. It had been nice that Chloe had talked to him at the last one, but she wasn't the person Adrien needed. Adrien had texted Marinette, like, a dozen times about it.

So far, though, all Marinette had texted back was: Probably not.

It was so bad that Plagg had suggested maybe they go back to reading Antoine's journal together.

"I just think you're being stupid about not letting Ladybug tell you who she is," Plagg said. "It's time for you to see what the real repercussions can be. Antoine suffered his whole life knowing that if he and his Ladybug had shared their identities, she probably wouldn't have died."

Adrien had agreed to Plagg's suggestion, but Antoine's story was horrifying, and it didn't make him feel any better.

"I don't think this is helping, Plagg," he'd said, after one particularly depressing journal entry.

"Well, then, I suppose we could try binge eating cheese together instead," Plagg said. "That always makes me feel better about everything."

"Ha, ha, Plagg."

"Well, look, maybe you need someone you can talk to," Plagg said. "You like Marinette. Maybe you should consider telling her what's going on. I have the feeling you could trust her. At least then you could explain what you were doing smooching her on her balcony."

Adrien groaned. "Yeah. Maybe I could. But she'd have to be willing to talk to me again for that to happen."

Marinette had not agreed to come to the fashion show with Adrien by the night of the show, so he showed up alone at Agreste Tower, praying that Fashion Disaster wouldn't decide to make an appearance again tonight. There'd been no sign of her for days. It was possible that Larisa wouldn't let herself be overcome by negative emotions tonight.

Possible, but not probable.

After all, it kind of seemed like his dad had been tempting fate, hosting this show at Agreste Tower itself, a place where Larisa had hoped to work.

In any case, Adrien was so caught up worried about everything, that he almost missed the last person he'd expected to see that night, standing there in the lobby in the world's most adorable red dress.

Marinette.

"Hi Adrien," she said quietly.

And he responded with something that probably sounded a little like: "Marinette? Um, Marinette! Why are you? I mean, I'm glad for you. I mean … you weren't supposed to be here. Not that you shouldn't be here. But, uh. My dad's going to be excited to see you."

She looked at her shoes while he mentally face-planted. "My parents told me I should come. They think I've been down."

He tried to pull himself together. "They, um … have you? Been down? I mean, I'm glad you're here no matter what."

She looked up again. Her face looked pale and thin. Her eyes, which were usually so blue, seemed dull. "I was waiting for you. I didn't want to go in alone."

"Oh." He didn't think that was a terrible sign, was it? "That's … I'm glad. We should. We should go in?"

She nodded and it occurred to him that he should offer his arm or something, so he did and she took it.

"Uh, shall we?" he said.

"Let's get this over with," she said.

So he led her to the elevator bank, and they rode together to the top of the tower, where the show was taking place, and he tried to make small talk, but it didn't feel right. She was still behind in school, he was still ahead with his lessons at home. She was still having trouble keeping up with her schedule, he was still taking Russian lessons, though not from Larisa.

They walked together to the atrium, decked out with purple and white flowers.

"Anemones," Marinette said.

"Pretty," Adrien said.

"They represent fading hope," she said.

"Well, that's … "

His father interrupted their conversation doing exactly what he shouldn't have as he spotted Adrien with Marinette. It was a private show, but there were still thirty or forty people milling around and waiting. Gabriel Agreste had plenty of other people to talk to, and Adrien almost wanted to shield Marinette from his dad. He pulled Marinette just slightly behind him as his dad approached.

"Adrien," his dad said in greeting when he reached them. Then he smiled as pleasantly and gently as he was probably capable of and said, "Ms. Dupain-Cheng. I was hoping that perhaps with Adrien's help we could entice you back here. I'm glad to see that was a success."

Adrien felt Marinette tensing next to him.

"She's not here because she can join the program again, Dad," Adrien said.

"Oh, I certainly didn't expect that," Gabriel said, though Adrien could tell he was already looking over Marinette's dress for fashion details.

"You didn't?" Adrien said. "I thought you wanted her back."

"I do. She has fantastic taste. Are you sure you don't at least want to look at the fabric room again, Ms. Dupain-Cheng? Your dress is exquisitely designed, but I have a gorgeous charmeuse silk that just came in last week." He caught Adrien's eye with a look Adrien couldn't decipher. "It's Ladybug red. Perhaps your design with black sequins…"

"Thank you," Marinette said quietly. "But I don't think I can. I don't have time for the program, and I don't want to—"

"Disappoint me again? My dear, isn't the greater danger you disappointing yourself?"

"Dad, leave her alone," Adrien said. "She's here for me, as my date, not for you."

"Oh?" There was a glint in his father's eyes as Adrien could practically feel Marinette blush next to him.

"As friends," Adrien tried, quickly, to correct the statement.

"It's okay, Adrien," Marinette said. "Let's just find our seats."

"The show won't start for another half hour," Gabriel said. "Why don't you go to the fabric room anyway? Not for me. I understand you can't be in the program. I just think you deserve to see that silk."

Marinette hesitated.

"I suppose it will keep him from asking you any more questions," Adrien murmured to her.

"There's also a playful print that just came in. Cotton lawn. Black with green cat eyes. I believe they called it Chat."

Marinette was quivering next to Adrien.

"Why don't we just try to get some air, okay?" he said to her, and he ushered her away from his dad and back toward the elevator banks.

"He didn't mean to upset you," he said as they walked. "He doesn't know anything about … you know. Your ... um ... Chat thing. I don't think he meant to make you feel pressured."

She was shaking now, and she couldn't talk.

"Come on, I can take you back down to the lobby if you want. We can skip the show. He shouldn't have said any of that."

"Can you … tell me where the ladies' room is?" Her voice sounded rocky and tight. "I just … I don't think I can … "

"I know, I get it." He felt terrible for her. And he'd done this. He was the one who'd made conversations about Ladybug and Chat Noir a problem for her.

He had to tell her. He had to come clean.

"I think it's over there." She nodded toward a hall away from the elevator bank and tried to loosen her arm from his. He wasn't sure when he'd tightened her so close to his side, but somewhere in there, he had.

He walked with her toward the hall rather than let her go. "I don't want you to lose me," he told her. "I'll wait for you right outside. There's something I think we should talk about."

She walked absently into the ladies' room like she hadn't even heard that, wiping her eyes, and he stood guard outside, trying to figure out ways he could get revenge on his dad and wondering if he should maybe just go in after her, lock the door, and get rid of all these secrets now. Immediately. He could tell her. She might hate him after, but she had so much going on, and he hated knowing that he was a huge part of what was making her hurt.

He was about to push the door open and follow through with that plan when a voice he knew screeched through the elevator bank.

"Oh look. Adrien Agreste is waiting here for me. How's your Russian coming along, Adrien? Has your dad found someone to replace me?"

Oh no.

Fashion Disaster was here. She cackled in her hideous outfit. "Where is Agreste Senior? I'm going to find him first. Then I'll come after you." She moved on to the atrium swiftly, crooning, "Oh, Gabriel? Your biggest fan is here to see you!"

Plagg chose that moment to peak out of Adrien's shirt. "If you want to save your dad, now's the time."

"But I told Marinette I'd wait right here, Plagg," Adrien said.

"And you were going to tell her who you are anyway, right?" Plagg said. "Carpe diem, my friend. The door to the ladies room is just there."

Plagg was right. And Adrien couldn't ignore Fashion Disaster. Not with Marinette in the building. She was going to be one of Fashion Disaster's next targets.

Adrien made a split second decision and plowed into the ladies' room. "Marinette?" he yelled. "I need to tell you something. Now. Fashion Disaster just showed up, and ..."

But all the stalls were open and Marinette was nowhere to be seen.

"Marinette!" he shouted. "Where are you?"

"Not here," Plagg said.

"I don't understand, Plagg," Adrien said while the chaos Fashion Disaster was causing started to sound loud outside the bathroom. "How does she do this? She's always disappearing. She keeps so many secrets. How can I tell her what's going on with me if she can't trust me with … whatever's going on with her?"

 _So many secrets. So much trouble._

"Uh, Adrien, I think maybe you should focus more on Fashion Disaster and your dad right now."

"I can't focus on Fashion Disaster!" Adrien was looking in every stall now. No Marinette. No Marinette. Had she gone out the window? They were at the top of the tower!

 _How does she do it? Where does she go? How does she keep slipping away from you? Showing up in places she shouldn't be?_

"Adrien, really, you need to calm down."

"I can't calm down, Plagg! There's someone who is going to try to hurt Marinette here, and I can't find her!"

 _The truth would keep her safe. The truth would keep everyone you love safe._

"Adrien!" Plagg was flitting close to his head. "Stop! Remember, there's an akuma out there!"

But the flying purple akuma was right there and Adrien didn't care. He didn't. He needed fewer secrets. He needed to know what was going on with Marinette. He needed to know who Ladybug was. He needed to tell them both who he was. Nothing in his life could get better until all the secrets were out.

The akuma sank into his chest.

 _Ahh…Truth Seeker. Good to see you again._

"You, too, Hawkmoth," Adrien said.

 _What secret do you want to go after first?_

"I need to find Marinette."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I wish.

* * *

 **Chapter 18 - Truth Teller**

Marinette sincerely hoped that Adrien had found a safe place to hide from Fashion Disaster because girlfriend seriously had it out for the Agreste Empire. Good thing Ladybug was on the scene. She'd been able to swing out the window of the ladies room and come back into the atrium atop Agreste Tower through a back exit door.

This put her in a backstage area that had been set up for the show. She slid by a line of models and makeup artists, pushed past rows of clothing racks, and then pardoned herself as the director had to get out of her way while she charged onto the stage right as someone turned the volume up some electronic music playing in the background.

Ladybug looked around the room for Gabriel Agreste and spotted him near the far end of the stage.

Then Fashion Disaster burst through the front doors.

"You first, Gabriel!" the girl cried, seeming only to catch sight of Ladybug after that.

Ladybug struck a cocky pose. "What, didn't think I would have an invite to an exclusive fashion show?"

Fashion Disaster pouted at the front doors. "How did you get here so soon?" She looked around the room. "Never mind. Gabriel is still first."

Ladybug sprung forward toward Gabriel just as Fashion Disaster launched the ugliest clutch purse at him. "Watch out, Mr. Agreste!" she yelled, swooping him up by the waist and dragging him easily toward the side of the room.

"Thank you, Ladybug," Gabriel said as they watched Fashion Disaster stalk toward them.

"We need to find a safe place for you while I handle Fashion Disaster," she said. "Preferably not in Agreste Tower."

"Not so fast, Ladybug," Fashion Disaster hurled that clutch at them again, forcing them both to duck.

Ladybug whipped out her magic yo-yo and flung it toward a ceiling fan. "Hang on, Mr. Agreste," she said, then she flew them both up, already planning a backstage exit that would buy Gabriel safety for a while.

"Father!? Ladybug!" Adrien had to pick _that_ moment to run into the room. He was usually so good at hiding during an akuma attack! Why couldn't he have stayed away now?

"Ahh…Agreste Junior." Fashion Disaster laughed the high-pitched croon of a psychopathic and terrible dresser. "I'm coming for you right after I get to him. Then we'll see what everyone thinks of Paris's hottest young model."

"My son!" Gabriel said, a touch dramatically, Ladybug thought, given how often the Agrestes were victimized by akumas.

"He'll be alright," she told him firmly. "For now, we need to get you out of here so that I can take on Fashion Disaster." She spotted a window that looked like it opened out at the top of the atrium and aimed her yo-yo there.

Then, just as she swung down from the ceiling fan with Gabriel in her arms, Adrien yelled out, "Wait! Where's Marinette? I need to find her!"

Ladybug tried not to grip Gabriel too tightly. Could Adrien not have been a little more subtle? Fashion Disaster was looking for Marinette, too. He'd basically just told Fashion Disaster that Marinette was here. She wasn't-not really-but still.

 _Chat_ wouldn't have done something like that.

"She's fine!" Ladybug yelled down to him.

"She's not!" Adrien shouted. "She disappeared!"

Ladybug didn't have time for this. "I'll come back and explain," she yelled back to him. "In the meanwhile, get as far away from Fashion Disaster as you can!"

"There's nowhere he can hide, Ladybug!" Fashion Disaster yelled, throwing that clutch at Adrien. "I'll demobilize him. Maybe with a truly hideous scarf!"

Yikes. Out of the corner of her eye, Ladybug thought she saw Adrien dodge, but she had to prioritize. She could not, on her own, save both Gabriel and Adrien at once, and Gabriel was the main person Fashion Disaster was targeting. She gritted her teeth as they landed at the window, pushed it open, and then whisked Gabriel away from Agreste Tower.

"He'll be fine, sir," she told Gabriel as they flew through the Paris skies. "I'll go right back and make sure as soon as I get you somewhere safe."

"And what about Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Gabriel said. "She was at the show, too."

"I'll…find her too," Ladybug said. She was almost at the Eiffel Tower. Gabriel could sit tight there. Fashion Disaster would never think to look for him on top of the most iconic structure in Paris.

Yeah right.

But without Chat, she had to stay with tried-and-true methods. Doing things like this is how she'd managed for the last many months alone. As they landed on one of the viewing decks, she set Gabriel down and turned right back around, planning to go back immediately to Agreste Tower for Adrien.

Gabriel put a hand on her shoulder, first, though.

"I'm worried about Adrien," he said. "And Marinette."

Ladybug paused. Gabriel Agreste wasn't someone she felt she could read well, and that seemed uncharacteristically empathetic. "Do you know Marinette?"

"It's my fault Fashion Disaster is after her," Gabriel said. "She was the Agreste Mentee this year. If she hadn't been selected, Fashion Disaster wouldn't care about her at all."

"Maybe she shouldn't have been selected," Ladybug muttered.

"Marinette?" Gabriel looked genuinely confused. "She was the best candidate. Her design work is phenomenal."

Ladybug really didn't have time for this, but how often do you get Gabriel Agreste alone at the top of the Eiffel Tower for a conversation about yourself? "But…isn't Marinette the girl that quit your program?"

Gabriel sighed. "Yes. She said she couldn't commit to the schedule. I've been trying to get her to come back. I'd like her to work for me for a few years after school. I have an, ah, vested interest in pursuing talented candidates like her."

"If she can't keep up with the schedule, why would you want her to come back, though?"

Gabriel straightened his tie and then his shirt cuffs, as if he felt disheveled from the ride over. Then he looked straight at her again. "I believe, Ladybug, that if Marinette would have chosen to talk to me about her, ah, scheduling issues, I could have accommodated her. I am aware that she is a busy girl. Something of a local neighborhood hero, if what Adrien tells me is true."

It was strange, Ladybug had the weirdest feeling that Gabriel was trying to say something to her that he wasn't saying.

"Adrien seems close to Marinette," Ladybug said.

"Oh, yes," Gabriel said. "I think they're becoming something of a thing. Partners in crime, you might say."

"Do they have that much in common?"

Gabriel smiled and spoke the next words very softly. "You know, I just got in the most gorgeous charmeuse silk that matches the red of your suit. I wanted Marinette to see it. Perhaps you could tell her that."

Ladybug blinked several times at Gabriel.

"After you handle Fashion Disaster, of course."

"I'll…see what I can do," Ladybug said, and with an extremely uneasy feeling, she flew off into the sky.

* * *

Truth Seeker was frustrated with Ladybug and frustrated with Fashion Disaster and frustrated with Marinette. Ladybug had flown off without bothering to help him find Marinette. Marinette had disappeared without telling him where she was going.

And Fashion Disaster was a pain in the butt.

"Do you actually speak Russian?" he said as he dodged that stupid clutch again. What kind of weapon was that, by the way? Hawkmoth was really slacking if that's the best he could come up with these days. "Tell me the truth."

She laughed. "No. I can't speak any Russian. I just told Gabriel Agreste that so I could worm my way into the Agreste mansion as your tutor and get as much dirt on the guy as possible." She smirked. "Were the online lessons good?"

"Should have known," Truth Seeker said, dodging again. "And did you find anything good?"

She frowned. "No. Security in every room of that place is so strong that no one could get anything good out of there."

" _Were_ you trying to steal from us?"

"Noo….yes."

At some point, Truth Seeker had thought Larisa was like an older Chloé. As her face twisted on that lie-turned-truth, he thought he'd probably been a little unfair to Chloé. She wasn't always the nicest person in the world, but at least lying wasn't in her nature.

He rolled his eyes at his ex-Russian tutor "And what did you steal, Larisa?"

She frowned and Truth Seeker felt a buzz of triumph. She didn't want to say what she'd stolen, but she was going to tell him anyway. This power, to make someone tell him the truth, this is what he needed from everyone in his life.

"I…I stole an embroidered bath towel."

Weird. Truth Seeker wasn't sure he wanted to know more.

"A hand towel," she continued, like she couldn't stop. "Cream colored. With a gold 'A' in perfect hand-stitched embroidery. I think it's silk thread. And I wanted it because—"

"Yeah, I don't care why you wanted it." Truth Seeker rolled his eyes and decided Fashion Disaster was only a nominal threat. "What did you do with Marinette?"

"The selfish child who quit the Agreste mentorship program? Nothing. Yet." Fashion Disaster clutched her clutch dumbly. "I haven't seen Marinette here. She's in line after you. But the towel was beautiful. I use it every day to—"

Right. So Truth Seeker wasn't going to be getting any more answers from her. Hopefully, she wouldn't do too much damage before Ladybug came back to take care of her. And then Truth Seeker and Ladybug needed to have a little _chat_. But first, he had to find Marinette.

He stalked backstage, ignoring Fashion Disaster's blabber about the hand towel, and found a bunch of models and makeup artists huddled together behind a fortress of clothing racks. He shoved the racks aside and looked for Marinette in the huddle. "Has anyone seen Marinette? Teenage girl? Raven colored hair? Big bluebell eyes? Black jacket? White shirt? Pink pants?"

"She's not here," one of the makeup artists said. "No one but Ladybug has come back this way."

Truth Seeker huffed. "She must be somewhere."

"She's not here," the makeup artist said.

"Is that the truth?" he said, making sure to look everyone in the eye at least once. His power only seemed to work when he could make eye contact with his victim. But no one seemed to know where Marinette was. Worse, they only seemed to care about themselves.

"Is Fashion Disaster still out there?" one of them said.

"I couldn't bear to get hit by that clutch," another said.

"I already was!" said someone dressed in a terribly awkward beige corduroy outfit with a smiley face. A model, probably, whose teary face did not match the ensemble.

"Yeah, I got it," Truth Seeker said. "Everyone here cares more about what they're wearing than about a lost girl." He turned and strode back into the atrium, trying not to be perturbed by the affirmations he could hear as he left. He was not going to be a model when he grew up. Or if he was, he would not be a vain model.

What was going on with Marinette? He'd watched her go into the ladies room, and then he'd stood right there until Fashion Disaster showed up. There was no way he'd missed her coming back out. He decided to go back there to see if maybe he'd missed some second exit, and as he left the atrium and entered the lobby, Plague popped out from his jacket pocket.

"Oh, no. Adrien, what are you doing?"

"I'm not Adrien. I'm Truth Seeker. And I'm finding out the truth. About everyone Plague." He glared at the little black kwami "What secrets are _you_ hiding from me?"

Plague stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at Adrien. "As if I'd tell you. Your powers won't work on me."

"That makes no sense," Truth Seeker said. "Do you see Marinette anywhere out here? The lobby is so streamlined, we should be able to see her. Is there anything she could be hiding behind?"

"Yeah…Marinette's not in the lobby. You could check the women's bathroom again. But it completely makes sense that your powers don't work on me. I'm the kwami of destruction, and anyway, kwamis are controlled by all kinds of magic. That's why Hawkmoth can't get into your head now, even though you've been akumatized. The magic protects you from being forced by another kwami's magic to give away your identity."

"I'll deal with Hawkmoth later," Truth Seeker said, except he was concerned about one thing related to that point. "But does that mean I can't ask Ladybug who she really is?"

Plagg shook his head. "Oh, no. You can't ask _me_ who she is, but you can probably ask her. It's all about balance. You and Ladybug have equivalent magic superpowers. You're vulnerable to each other." He flitted by Adrien as they reached the ladies' room. "But I thought your big concern was Marinette's secret, not Ladybug's."

Truth Seeker had reached the ladies' room but stopped just as he began to push the door open. "Wait, _do_ you know who Ladybug is?"

"Oh, sure," Plagg waved his hand casually. "But don't even bother. I can't tell you anything. You have to figure it out for yourself."

Truth Seeker scowled. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"I don't know," Plagg said sarcastically. "How is _that_ truth going now?"

"Point taken," Truth Seeker stepped into the ladies' room again. "Just help me find Marinette." He walked by all the stalls again, opening every door, then started looking under sinks. "Am I missing something? Is there a hidden door?" He started looking up by the ceiling. "Think she could have gone through an ac vent?"

Plagg swooped up to get a better look at the vents. "Nah. Those are kwami sized, not Marinette sized."

"Then where could she have gone?" He went to the one window. It was cracked open, but just a little. He looked out. They were at the very top of the building. There was no ledge below the window. No one sane would have gone out that way. It would have been a straight fall down to the pavement. "You don't think she would have…?" He shook his own head. "No. Marinette was stressed. But she's not that type. There's no way she would have jumped out of a window this far up."

Plagg sat on top of a paper towel holder. "She must really have some secret, huh?"

Truth Seeker stared at Plagg. Was Plagg taking on an _attitude_ with him?

Marinette had all kinds of secrets. And one of those secrets had let her escape from a bathroom at the very top of Agreste Tower without going out the door.

"Plagg," Truth Seeker said slowly. "What if Marinette…?" But that was impossible, wasn't it? Marinette was just a girl he knew. Well, no, she was a lot more than that. She was a girl he'd been falling for. A girl he could love. A girl who might be able to help him get over Ladybug IF she could get over _him_ being Chat Noir.

But how had she gotten out of this bathroom?

A flash of red and black appeared in the window and Plagg ducked back into Truth Seeker's jacket just as Ladybug entered the bathroom.

"Adrien? Is this the best place to hide from Fashion Disaster?" Ladybug seemed tired. She didn't spring toward him. She sighed. "Well, that's okay. I should get you away from here next."

"But I'm looking for Marinette. I need to find her first."

"I can find her later."

It had never occurred to Truth Seeker how cold Ladybug could be when she had a job she thought she had to do. It occurred to him now.

"You don't care about Marinette at all, do you? She's just one more person to get out of the way before you deal with Fashion Disaster."

She looked up at him. "No. Of course not. I am…" A shadow passed over her face and she looked quickly down at the bathroom floor. "I mean…of course I care about Marinette. And I…completely forgot. Marinette told me you would probably be worried about her."

Truth Seeker was suspicious. "You talked to Marinette?"

Ladybug didn't look up. "How else do you think she got out here? I was trying to sneak in so I could find Gabriel before Fashion Disaster got to him, but when I found her here, I took her right home."

A wave of disappointment that Truth Seeker didn't entirely understand rushed over him. Marinette _didn't_ have any special secrets. She hadn't flown out the window. Or at least she hadn't done it on her own. Ladybug had run into her and gotten her out. That was the explanation.

Ladybug.

Who was still looking down.

Truth Seeker took one step forward. "Ladybug, I have a question for you, and I need you to answer truthfully."

Ladybug made a little moaning noise. "Adrien, I am so sorry."

He took another step, ignoring her meaningless apology. She knew he'd been akumatized. She had to know. Ladybug was clever. She knew there was an akuma out there, that it might have multiplied. She probably even thought of him as the kind of weak non-superhero person who would be especially vulnerable to an akuma.

It would never occur to her that he _wasn't_ a "non-superhero." She probably wouldn't even believe if he told her he was Chat Noir. She'd never wanted to know Chat's identity, and she would never have seen Adrien as Chat. Maybe she could barely see either of them. He had never liked to think about it—he hadn't believed it would matter long-term—but there had always been another guy she liked. Who was making Adrien/Chat so unimportant to her?

"Adrien, I need you to fight the akuma. I know it's hard—"

He laughed sharply. "I don't _want_ to fight the akuma." I like being able to force people to tell me the truth."

She gasped.

"Oh, you needed it confirmed? You didn't really believe I could be akumatized?"

"Adrien, you're not thinking straight," she told him, now looking toward a piece of paper towel on the floor. "You're letting your negative emotions get the best of you. And I know you must feel extremely hurt by all the secrets you feel your friends and family are keeping from you…"

Why wasn't _she_ one of his friends? She should have been. They shouldn't have been having this conversation at all, because she should have known he was Chat Noir. Why couldn't she have trusted him enough for that? There wouldn't have had to be any secrets. They could have avoided all this mess. Marinette would still just have been a friend and he wouldn't be so confused and Ladybug wouldn't be fighting alone. And now that Truth Seeker thought of it, whoever the other guy was, he was doing a lousy job supporting her right now. Her face only got thinner and thinner every time he saw her. Hadn't she told him once the other guy didn't know she liked him? That must have been years ago, but still. Was he out there? Had she ever told him she liked him? Probably not. She was, after all, the queen of secrets.

"Who was he, Ladybug?" he asked, the horrible question slipping angrily from him tongue. "You never wanted to know who Chat Noir was, did you? So tell me this…who's the guy you liked instead? Who's the one you loved so much that you didn't want to share yourself with your real partner instead? Did you ever tell _him_ your identity?"

This time the noise she made was choked. "Where's the akuma, Truth Seeker? This isn't you. Adrien isn't like this?"

"Well, I'm not Adrien," he said, spitting out every word. "Adrien's a wimp who never gets the truth. He's nothing like me."

"I know." She was frozen in place looking at that pathetic paper towel. "I should have told him. I should have told Chat. You're right. I…I'm so done with secrets."

Was she using her peripheral vision to try to look at him? Ladybug was always so smart. She had to have a plan. She was trying to figure out where the akuma was, wasn't she? She was waiting to use her lucky charm because she knew she had to deal with Fashion Disaster, too.

"If I could take it all back…"

Well, she'd never find the akuma inside him, and he was going to get the truth out of her, once and for all. In fact, she was going to find out everything. Now. He touched his ring with his thumb. Right now. He opened his mouth to call Plagg…

And a little black butterfly floated in front of his nose.

They multiplied. How had he forgotten? But why had this one found him and Ladybug? He tried to focus on something other than his anger.

"I should have told them both," she was muttering. "I should have told my parents earlier. I wanted to tell my friends. I should have told Chat. I should have told him everything."

The akuma landed on her chest and sank in. Truth Seeker watched a purple glow light up her face. Then, finally, she looked up from the bathroom floor and met his eyes.

He was angry, but now he was also afraid. Because he couldn't move. At all. He was frozen in place. Was she doing that to him?

"Ladybug?"

She snorted, then caught his eye again. "There's no Ladybug, Truth Seeker," she said, her voice icy cold. "There's only Truth Teller."

"So are you going to tell me who you are?" he asked, a little surprised suddenly at the possibility of success and still frozen.

"Oh, don't worry, Truth Seeker. There are things I'm going to tell you. A lot of things." She clenched her fists and then suddenly looked away. His body was instantly unfrozen again. "But not now. I have someone else I need to talk to first. Someone more important."

She stepped back to the window.

"Who?" he said, feeling mildly offended that he'd lost her attention.

"Who else?" she said as she climbed out. "I need to talk to Chat. He has to know who I am. I'm done with this game."

* * *

Author's Note: what music do you listen to when you're writing ML fanfiction? I don't have a playlist, and I felt like I needed one for this. The ML theme song won't do. This is way too angsty for that! Recommendations?

Also, I actually don't know how I'm going to get them out of this situation, and this isn't where I thought this chapter was going to go, and I'm worried about the reconciliation. I mean...they've both been pretty nasty to each other. Can some great kissing fix it all? Was this all part of Gabriel's plan, or did that get all messed up? What about Nino and Alya and their secret mission to figure out if their friends are actually superheroes? And how will Chat and Ladybug ever destroy the akumas when they've both been akumatized?

Uh...your guess is as good as mine! Hopefully I can update again this weekend, though. That's the goal...


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I wish.

* * *

 **Chapter 19 - The Search for Truth**

Truth Teller was on the hunt for one Chat Noir—aka the most stubborn, self-sacrificing, sexy-in-black-leather, way-more-than-a-side-kick-more-like-a-soul-mate superhero she'd ever had the pleasure and pain of working with. So he'd decided he loved her too much to be her partner? Fine. He didn't have to fight akumas. Neither of them did. Forget that. All she needed was for him to know who she really was and that she was just as in love with him as he was with her. If he wanted to give up the whole miraculous business after, then so be it. She was exhausted anyway. Whoever the boy was under that black leather cat suit, she loved him. That's what was most important. As long as she didn't lose that person, it would be okay. Paris would survive. Hopefully.

But where had that stupid cat gone? She'd initially thought he might show up at Agreste Tower—at some point he'd promised they could alternate villains—but when he didn't, she realized she was going to have to get more clever with her hunt. So she flung herself all over Paris for what felt like forever, paying special attention to all the rooftops and alleys they'd ever spent time patrolling for akumatized villains before.

She even returned to the Eiffel Tower, because if he hadn't wanted to help her at Agreste Tower, maybe Chat had figured out there was an innocent victim that needed to help instead.

If that's what Chat had planned, though, she'd missed him. Gabriel Agreste wasn't where she'd left him, or anywhere else on the Eiffel Tower. So she'd lost Chat _and_ the person most in danger thanks to Fashion Disaster.

Total fail.

Discouraged, she decide to return to Agreste Tower. It was possible Chat had finally shown up, right?

But Chat Noir wasn't the superhero she found in the atrium of Agreste Tower, handling Fashion Disaster. Instead, Queen Bee was there, perched on a chair by a cocktail table, where Fashion Disaster herself was also sitting, clutching her hideous clutch with both hands and listening to something Queen Bee was saying.

They were surrounded by a group of models, and even though it seemed like every last person there (including Queen Bee, whose hair was a hived mess) had become Fashion Disaster victims, no one seemed terribly upset.

In fact, Queen Bee appeared to have quite the captive audience. Truth Teller watched as Queen Bee patted Fashion Disaster's hand.

"I know," Queen Bee told the girl. "I have first-hand experience with this. The fashion industry can be so cruel."

"I can't believe your mother refused to put you in the Audrey program!" Fashion Disaster said, gripping that clutch even harder. "She's horrible."

"She can be quite the witch," Queen Bee said wisely. "But, she wouldn't be my mom if she wasn't that way. Anyway, we all know it's not what's given to us that makes us great. It's what we have to earn on our own. My mom knows I want to be a great fashion designer. She isn't going to ruin that by putting me in a mentoring program so I can become someone's clone." Queen Bee seemed to notice Truth Teller approaching, and she gestured for her come over. "Oh, Ladybug, you're here." She held up Fashion Disaster's employee badge. "Larisa, here, is ready to give this up, but we waited for you so the akuma wouldn't get away."

Truth Teller sighed. Queen Bee had done a good job, so even though she wasn't in the mood to play Ladybug, she did suppose she ought to fix this situation. She stalked toward Queen Bee, Fashion Disaster, and the ill-attired models.

"Give it to me," she said to Queen Bee, who handed over the employee badge.

Truth Teller tore the badge apart and a purple akuma flew out. "I'm not really here for this," she told them all as she captured the akuma.

Queen Bee frowned. "You're not?"

Truth Teller tossed the badge up into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug," she said glumly, and everyone in the room went back to their normal clothing. "Has Chat Noir been here?" Truth Teller asked Queen Bee.

"No," she said, looking puzzled. "But you captured the akuma." She pointed at her own head. "My hair looks great again. So this situation, at least, is fixed. Good job, Ladybug."

"It is far from fixed," Truth Teller said.

"Uh, that was where you were supposed to say, 'Good job, Queen Bee.' This wasn't _easy_ , you know." Queen Bee put her fist on her hip. "You don't seem like yourself, Ladybug. Is everything okay?"

"Nothing is okay," Truth Teller said, laughing spitefully at the question. "The only thing okay right now is how clear everything seems to me."

Queen Bee stepped closer with a look of scrutiny on her face. "So … did you talk to Chat, then? Or …" Horror shaded her face. "Oh my gosh, Ladybug, have you been akumatized?"

Truth Teller cackled. "I'm not Ladybug."

Queen Bee took a long step back. "Who…who are you, then?"

Truth Teller didn't have any more patience for this. "I'm Truth Teller," she said bluntly, "and all I want is for everyone to know the truth. That I'm—"

Queen Bee grabbed her arm and yanked her away from the crowd, cutting off Truth Teller's ability to tell them the very truth she was so tired of carrying.

"What are you doing?" Truth Teller screeched. "They need to know!"

"Oh, I don't think this is the audience you're looking for," Queen Bee said, digging her nails into Truth Teller's skin as they walked.

"Why not?" Truth Teller asked as she was dragged into the lobby.

"You want to tell a bunch of fashion models your secret identity? Ladybug … er … Truth Teller … you know that's a bad idea! You are a superhero! No one can know your secret identity!"

"People know your secret identity," Truth Teller argued. "And nothing bad has happened to you."

Queen Bee wasn't stopping at the lobby, she was going for the elevator bank, where she pressed "down" several times before she turned to face Truth Teller.

"My secret identity isn't as important as yours!"

"But my parents know," Truth Teller said. "And that was a huge relief. It made my life a lot easier. And my kwami says it's okay if I tell Chat Noir now, since I know I can trust him."

"Can you trust him if he gets akumatized?"

"If I had trusted him earlier, he probably never would have _been_ akumatized! And neither would I!"

A ding announced the arrival of one of the elevators, and when the door opened, Queen Bee shoved Truth Teller inside.

"I'm tired of carrying around so many secrets," Truth Teller told Queen Bee while she watched the girl now hit the "close" button several times. "You don't know what a burden this is."

"Fine! I've wanted to know who you are for years, Ladybug," Queen Bee said as soon as they were safely enclosed in the elevator. "But I'm someone you _can_ trust, Ladybug! I've never lied to you, and you know I'll always keep your secret. Can you say that about everyone else?"

There was something about that statement that took the wind out of Truth Teller's sails. Queen Bee was right, and Ladybug knew that because she knew Queen Bee's true identity. Chloe could be a mean, selfish, terrible person, but she hardly ever lied. She was trustworthy. Was everyone else?

"You know it's true, don't you?" Queen Bee said, soften her voice while the elevator began to bring them down. "You know who I am. You know you can trust me. So until Chat Noir shows up and we figure out how to de-akumatize you, you can tell me anything you need to tell me. But you need to keep quiet to anyone else? Got that, Ladybug?"

Truth Teller wasn't sure if she was being tricked, but Queen Bee sounded right. It didn't matter for the moment anyway since she was now stuck in an elevator with Queen Bee and they were alone.

Queen Bee put her hand on Truth Teller's shoulder. "Your secret will be safe with me, Ladybug. What do you need to tell me?"

Truth Teller felt an overwhelming sense of relief looking into Queen Bee's eyes. It would have been so nice to have a friend she could confide in, and she had never felt she could tell Alya, but Queen Bee was different. Queen Bee didn't run the LadyBlog.

"Thanks, Queen Bee," Truth Teller said, feeling a bit like this was a dress rehearsal for the confession she needed to give to Chat Noir. She tapped her earrings. "Spots off."

Queen Bee's mouth hung open as Truth Teller transformed back into her civilian self and Tikki emerged. The little kwami began to flit around, looking extremely concerned.

"What happened?" Tikki asked. "Marinette, are you okay?"

Then Queen Bee found her voice. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng? You're Ladybug?"

* * *

The kindest, sweetest, cutest, prettiest, enigma Truth Seeker had ever known, AKA Marinette Dupain-Cheng, had fled Paris. Or at least she'd vanished into thin air. Truth Seeker had looked for her at the bakery, where all the lights were off and no one seemed to be home at all. He'd checked the school, where only a few janitors were still around. He'd even transformed into Chat Noir-knowing how risky that was-and searched all over Paris.

No Marinette.

But it wasn't all lost, because he'd finally caught a lucky break, locating Alya and Nino on a date at a Vietnamese place down the street from Alya's house. He de-transformed as soon as he saw them eating pho in there.

Now he was looming over their booth, and they were acting extremely weird.

"Look, if you have any idea where Marinette is, I need to know now," he said.

"Tell you where Marinette is?" Alya said. " _Why_ do you need to know?"

"Because it's urgent," he said. "And because she's keeping secrets from me."

Nino took a sip from his soda and gave Alya a "look" that Truth Seeker didn't like at all.

"What is your problem!" he yelped. "You two are supposed to be our friends! I need help! She needs help."

"You need help stalking Marinette?" Alya said. "Oh, how the tables have turned."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Truth Seeker demanded. "Who's Marinette stalking?"

Apparently, that was funny enough for Alya to dissolve into laughter, practically face-down in her pho.

Nino raised an eyebrow at Truth Seeker. "It's funny because Marinette's not the only one who disappears all the time. You're as bad as she is. Constantly late to class when you used to come to school, always using the bathroom pass, and then you disappear into your mansion to hide…"

"Don't forget the showers, Nino!" Alya said before looking at Truth Seeker again. "You take really long showers at really weird times, Adrien." She lowered her voice. "Want to tell us what you're doing when you take those super long showers?"

Nino snickered. "A man has to keep some things personal, babe."

They both erupted into laughter.

Truth Seeker was annoyed. If he had to, he'd leave and come back around as Chat Noir. He could be pretty threatening that way (he thought) if he needed to be. But his Truth powers should have been working right now.

"Nino, Marinette could be in danger," Truth Seeker said, making sure to look in his former best friend's eye as he asked his next question. "Do you know where she is?"

"Oh, I have a good guess," Nino said.

"Then tell me," Truth Seeker said. "Where does Marinette go when she disappears?"

Nino looked right up into Adrien's eyes. "I'm sorry, Adrien, but I just can't tell you. I have to keep it a secret. You might not know it, but I am an excellent secret keeper."

"So am I!" Alya said, and then they both laughed again. "We're top-notch secret keepers."

This was creepy, and it was making Truth Seeker suspicious. Why weren't his powers working on them? He turned to Alya and looked her in the eye.

"Come on, Alya. You know Marinette has a tendency to get in trouble. She was with me at my dad's fashion show before Fashion Disaster showed up. Ladybug said she was fine, but I can't find her in the tower or at home or anything. I think Ladybug lied to me. Marinette could be in danger now."

"Maybe Ladybug had a good reason to lie," Alya said. "You never know."

He _stared_ into her eyes, willing his powers as Truth Seeker to work. "But do you know where Marinette is? Tell me!"

Alya and Nino glanced at each other, though, neither of them answering, and Truth Seeker counted to ten trying to be patient with whatever their little game was.

"I know where we were before the show," Alya said. "We were both outside Agreste Tower. Doing some research."

"Some research," Nino repeated somberly.

"What's going on with you two?" Truth Seeker said. "Why won't you tell me what I need to know?"

"Don't you get it?" Alya said. "Even if we did know anything, we wouldn't tell you."

"Why not?! I thought we were friends!"

"Oh, we are friends, Adrien," Nino said. "Best friends."

"Or maybe we should say Kitty?" Alya said.

Truth Seeker's heart dropped into his stomach. "What do you think you know about me?"

"A lot more than you think we know," Alya said.

"And we know why you need to find Marinette, too."

Truth Seeker swallowed what felt like a whole lemon and took a deep breath. "If you know why I need to find Marinette, then you know why you need to tell me."

"I don't think so," Alya said. "I think all we know is why _you_ need to tell her your secret."

"That's right," Nino said. "It's not up to us to reveal important things. That's not our role."

"I can't tell her anything if I can't find her!"

"Well, maybe Marinette isn't the most important person for you to find right now," Alya suggested.

"Who could be more important than her?"

"Oh, I don't know?" Alya said, stirring her chopsticks in her pho.

"Yeah, who on earth would a guy who's been refusing to do his job as a superhero need to tell the truth to right now?" Nino added.

"Other than the girl I'm in love with?" Truth Seeker demanded.

Alya giggled. "I always thought Chat was in love with _Ladybug_."

"I'm in love with Marinette now!" Truth Seeker said. He gripped the edge of the table. "Please, you guys. I know I need to talk to Ladybug, too, but Marinette's more important than Ladybug, and she could be in danger. She's my highest priority right now."

Alya and Nino both stopped smiling.

"Please," Truth Seeker begged.

"Well, the thing is," Nino said slowly, "We'd like for you and Marinette to both be able to tell us all your secrets. And right now, if you haven't figured it out, we're for sure not letting any secrets go."

"But _why not_?"

Alya and Nino both looked up at him, and it occurred to him what had happened as he saw the purple haze in their eyes.

"We're the Secret Keepers, dude," Nino said. "Even if we knew things, we couldn't tell you. You're on your own."

Adrien felt like all the punch had been taken out of him. Nothing was going to help him find Marinette. He was screwed. And he was never going to be able to tell her he was Chat Noir, and who knows what Ladybug had done to her, and could he even trust Ladybug anymore? And how had Alya and Nino figured it all out?

"You know, Kitty, whenever Marinette disappears on me, she usually shows back up exactly where I lost her to begin with," Alya said.

"But Ladybug said she took her somewhere safe."

"And Ladybug is keeping secrets from you, isn't she?"

"So where did you see Marinette last, Adrien?" Nino said.

"At Agreste Tower."

"Then maybe you should go there, Alya suggested."

Truth Seeker decided that was as good as he was going to get. "Thanks, guys," he said to them, and he took back off for Agreste Tower, praying that Marinette had somehow returned.

* * *

Queen Bee shook her head like she was trying to shake dust out of it. "I…guess I should have expected this," she said when she was finished. "It makes a few things make a lot more sense."

"Is she okay?" Tikki said to Queen Bee, not talking to Truth Teller at all.

Queen Bee shook her head at Tikki. "No, Marinette slash Ladybug has been akumitized."

"Into the Truth Teller," Truth Teller confirmed proudly to her kwami. "Because Tikki, I can't take this any longer. I need Chat Noir to know the truth." She nodded at Queen Bee. "Do you know who he is? You said it all makes sense."

"No," Queen Bee waved her hand and then de-transformed herself. "I have no idea who Chat is. Honestly, I don't know why you care about him at all. Adrien is totally into you. That's what I meant makes sense now. I mean … you're Ladybug. Of course, he's into you."

Truth Teller paused, feeling confused. "Wait, Adrien is into me? As Ladybug?"

"Well yeah," Queen Bee said. "Everyone is into you as Ladybug. But I meant as Marinette."

"He's into me as Marinette?"

"So into you. It crushed me before, but I suppose…"

"Did he tell you that? In person?"

"I told you I don't lie, Marinette," Chloe said. "If I say Adrien likes you, then he likes you."

"And … you're okay with that?"

"Do you want the truth?"

Truth Teller nodded. "Yes. The truth is all I want right now."

Chloe shrugged. "Fine. Then I don't like you much as Marinette. But as Ladybug, you're my hero, and I want to be just like you. So if I have to lose Adrikins, I'd rather lose him to you than anyone else, Ladybug. And…maybe I can try to get to know Marinette better." She held out her arms. "Should we hug?"

Truth Teller let Chloe hug her, but her initial relief had vanished.

"There's still a lot that isn't okay about this, isn't there?" Chloe said.

Truth Teller agreed. "You're right. Because the truth is that even though I have liked Adrien before, the truth is that I don't love him. Or at least … I don't love him the way I love Chat."

"So what are you going to do?"

Truth Teller shook her head. "I don't know. I think Adrien is akumatized right now himself and that he's trying to get the truth out of Marinette about where she keeps disappearing to. I need to tell him who I am. He's not going to understand why I don't want to be with him anymore otherwise. But it's even more important to me that I find Chat. There's no other way out of this."

"But you don't know where Chat is, do you Marinette?" Tikki asked.

"I've looked everywhere."

Queen Bee seemed to think hard for a minute, then the elevator dinged and they were at the bottom floor of Agreste Tower. "Okay, look, I don't know where you can find Chat, but if the truth matters to you, I do know where I think Adrien might have gone. Some of the models were saying he stormed out of Agreste Tower talking about how he needed to find Marinette. He's looking for you right now."

"Where do you think he went?"

The elevator door opened.

Adrien Agreste was standing in front of it.

"Huh. I was thinking he'd be at the bakery," Chloe said, then she patted Truth Teller's shoulder as she stepped out of the elevator. "Well, good luck with this part of your truth-telling."

Adrien, however, never seemed to see Chloe at all. He only stepped into the elevator and said, "Marinette, we need to talk."

Truth Teller looked briefly into his eyes.

Green. They were usually so green. But right now, there was that purple haze. She supposed hers probably looked similar.

"I guess we do," she said.

* * *

Gabriel Agreste was more than happy to be off the Eiffel Tower and back into the comfort of a limousine, where Tom and Sabine Cheng were looking a little uncomfortable with champagne in plastic flutes, while Master Fu seemed completely happy with his flute.

"Gabriel, is this how you meant for everything to happen?" Sabine asked. "I can't help but think that we could be putting both Marinette and Adrien in more trouble than they need to be in."

"Yeah, I'm not comfortable with the idea that there's an akumatized victim out there and our kids are likely to be akumatized themselves," Tom said.

"What kind of champagne is this?" Master Fu said. "It's not as good as what Adelina would have served me."

"I have better stuff in the mansion," Gabriel said to the old trickster. "And no, this really isn't how I meant for any of this to happen. But this is going to work just as well. The important thing is to get both Marinette and Adrien to the fabric department at Agreste Tower. Then the rest of the plan goes into effect."

"I still don't like manipulating them like this."

"Again, Tom, while I appreciate your concern about the ethics of this matter, I urge you to consider what happens if Marinette and Adrien never learn the truth. Do you want your daughter patrolling Paris alone forever?"

"I want your son to man up and stop being such a coward about hurting my daughter."

"Tom, you have to remember, Adrien's a bit confused right now," Sabine said.

"I don't care. This better end well," Tom said, scowling at Gabriel.

"Yes, and then perhaps we can get back to the business of defeating Hawkmoth?" Master Fu said. "Sabine, do you need more champagne?"

Sabine's eyes flitted between Gabriel and her husband, and she handed her plastic flute over to Master Fu. "Yes, please, Master Fu," she said, "I'm afraid this does all seem a bit stressful."

Master Fu refilled her flute, then gestured for Gabriel to hand his over as well, something Gabriel did while also swiping Tom's glass for him. The Agrestes were charming. He could win Tom Dupain over.

With full plastic flutes, Gabriel held his up for a toast. "To drinking the good stuff in a few hours. In celebration of another successful Ladybug and Chat Noir reveal!"

Master Fu clinked flutes with Sabine, and Tom reluctantly clinked his plastic flute with Gabriel's.

"You better hope it's successful," he warned Gabriel.

Gabriel took a long, not at all anxious, drink of champagne. "It will be," he said. All Marinette and Adrien needed was some forced alone time. That would do it. He was sure of it.

* * *

The elevator closed behind Truth Seeker, and Truth Teller stepped away from him until her back was against the back wall of the elevator. She looked down at the floor, which was pristine except for a few black shoe scuffs.

"So Marinette, Ladybug said me she saved you. Whisked you right out of the women's bathroom before going to take care of Fashion Disaster. Is that true?"

A strange spark in Truth Teller made her want to lie momentarily, but no, that wasn't who she was anymore. Marinette would have lied. Ladybug would have lied. But Truth Teller…

"No, it's not true," she said

"Then what is?" Truth Seeker said.

"The truth is …"

* * *

Author's Note: I know. Delay + cliffhanger. Super bad. And I can't even promise less delays because it's frickin' migraine season and that means I never know when the weather is going to shut down my ability to write. (Global warming is SO NOT GOOD for a migraine sufferer.) But what I can say is that it's pretty much gotta be Ladybug/Chat/Marinette/Adrien from here on out. This is what I've been looking forward to writing in this story.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is not mine. I wish.

* * *

 **Chapter 20 - Broken Hearts Mended**

This was it. This was the truth Truth Seeker needed most right now. What happened to Marinette when she disappeared? What kept her so busy all the time? How on earth had she escaped from that bathroom.

He kept his eyes locked on hers.

"The truth is," she began to say, and the elevator lurched all at once. Marinette tripped into his arms, and he didn't mind. Not really. Not at all. If she would just tell him what was going on.

He closed his arms around her and held her tightly against him, exactly the way he thought it should be. Exactly how he wanted to hold her. "Careful," he murmured, and she shivered in his arms as the elevator continued up.

"Adrien," she said into his shirt, but he ignored her and caressed her hair. Maybe it wasn't just that he needed the truth from her. Maybe if _he_ told _her_ the truth, it would resolve all his residual feelings for Ladybug.

She pulled back as far as she could, and he was not happy to see that she didn't look nearly as calmed by the embrace as he felt. She looked downright distraught, and his attention on the truth shifted again. Did she love him at all?

The elevator door dinged and Marinette took the opportunity to slide by him. "I need to find Chat," she repeated again as she moved past him. "He's the one who needs the truth from me right now."

Truth Seeker followed her. The elevator had let them out on the fabric floor, and the whole place was a labyrinth of fine silk, bright cotton, expensive wool.

"Just what truth do you think Chat needs to know?" he said as she passed the polka dotted material his dad had mentioned earlier. "What do you need to tell _him_ that you don't want to tell me?"

She turned back on him by a buttery yellow silk.

"Why do you even think he's here?" he asked her.

"There was an akumatized villain here," she said simply. "And I couldn't find him anywhere else in Paris."

Truth Seeker laughed. "He could be _anywhere_ in Paris. You didn't have time to check everywhere."

"I had time to check most places," she said and she frowned at him. "Look, Adrien, I know you want the truth from me, but the truth is that I love Chat Noir. I'm always going to love Chat Noir. Even if he never lets me tell him."

Truth Seeker stepped forward. "I know you're in love with Chat Noir, Marinette," he said. "But are you in love with me?"

She grimaced like she was trying not to answer, but the truth came out. "Yes," she said. "I am. But it doesn't matter. Chat is more—"

He'd been right. She did love him as both Chat and Adrien. He could wait to find out where she disappeared to. He needed to kiss her now. He'd lost too much time not kissing her.

He was going to kiss her.

* * *

Marinette hadn't expected her powers as Truth Teller to backfire on her, but now she felt like she was suffocating in the truth. Adrien was the person who'd kept her from understanding her feelings for Chat for so long. If she'd never met Adrien, maybe she and Chat would have gotten together right away. Maybe she never would have broken Chat's heart.

And pinned between Adrien and a bolt of cotton, with his damned green eyes practically glowing despite that purple haze, she couldn't look anywhere else. Because she had told him the truth. She did love Adrien, even though she loved Chat more.

It apparently didn't bother Adrien to come in second place. He was still leaning toward her. His chest pressed up against hers, and she could feel his heart beating as fast as hers.

Why did he have to be _so Adrien_ right now? When the person she wanted was Chat, why did it have to be Adrien who'd found her? Why were all the guys she was into so obsessed with getting the "truth" out of her!? And why…oh _why_ did she tilt her lips up toward Adrien?

Then she stopped thinking about whys, because he was kissing her.

Adrien Agreste was kissing her. The boy she'd crushed on for oh-so-long. Because he was so sweet and selfless and wonderful, always there for his friends, always caring more about everyone else than about himself, always so good in every way.

And so good at kissing. It was impossible for her not to answer those warm, insistent lips. The part of her heart that had been his since he'd handed her that umbrella years ago cut her mind off from her body and took complete control. She responded to him like she'd forgotten all about Chat. Like this is how it was always supposed to be. Her mouth parted easily, her tongue found his like it knew its way there already. Her whole body began to quiver, and it was a response to the him shaking.

Then he drew her closer with his arm around her back, and in an instant, Marinette's entire world turned inside out. Was it the exact placement of his arm below her shoulder blades? The way his fingers curled around her ribcage? The precise mold of her hand over his chest? Which one of those things did it? What made her think just then of someone whose arms she'd been in a million times before?

Was this her heart's way of making a decision for her? Maybe her heart was telling her now that she _did_ love Adrien, but Chat would _always_ win if it came down to a choice between the two of them, and that made this _wrong_. It didn't even matter if Adrien kissed her exactly the same way Chat had kissed her that night on her balcony.

Her world turned again.

 _He kissed like Chat._

She tried to pull away from him, but he only took her effort to remove her lips from his as a reason to brush back her hair and go for her neck, and Adrien Agreste was apparently a _lover_ , and oh God, that made complete sense, _if…_

"Tell me the rest," he said. "Where do you go?" His mouth pulled on the skin by her throat and made her knees woobly. "Where do you disappear to, Marinette? You can trust me."

She tried to twist away. Her mind was whirling, connecting dots so fast she wasn't sure what was happening. Was it really possible? Could it be that this was why she couldn't banish either Adrien or Chat from her heart? And how was she supposed to process it all right now? He was going to consume her with the kissing. There would be a time and place for that…especially _if_ …but first…

"Adrien, stop, I think we need to talk."

"I know. I know. I don't want lies between us anymore," he said, but he was still kissing, and it was so hard to think with his body pressing into hers and his lips roaming free. "No lies. The truth is worth the risk." He paused to take in a quick breath and move back to her mouth, and she was helpless, unable to take advantage of any of the brief gaps between kisses. It was unfair. He wasn't so immobilized. He was taking advantage of those gaps to tell her what he apparently thought she needed to hear.

"You need to know…and I think you'll understand…and then I need you to tell me everything."

She'd wanted that too. The truth. No more lies. The akuma inside her still wanted it. But if she was right, Chat had been so upset at Ladybug…

"Everything…might be too much," she managed to say.

He leaned his head against hers—one tender moment in what had otherwise been a sea of passion. "Marinette," he whispered, "why do I always fall in love with the ones who don't want to tell me their secrets?"

That was when she knew for sure.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Adrien was in love with Marinette.

Chat Noir was in love with Marinette.

And that meant…he didn't love Ladybug anymore.

Marinette felt her heart crack down the center, and a pain she'd never experienced before made her clutch her chest while a purple butterfly emerged. The akuma.

* * *

Truth Seeker's mind registered what had just happened while his heart lagged behind. Marinette had been akumatized, and just like him, the akuma had made its way into her heart, and now the akuma was free.

Which meant her heart was broken.

Something about what had just happened between them had broken her heart.

They both stood watching the purple butterfly—apparently uninterested in flying away just yet-dance around them, and Adrien felt something terrible rip through his own heart. How could this have happened again? Why was he constantly hurting the people he loved the most?

A purple butterfly blasted up from his own chest, and he sank down in the pain while the two purple butterflies fluttered around him and Marinette, still standing silently while Adrien's heart threatened to stop beating altogether. What was the point of having a beating heart when all it ever did was help you break other hearts?

And how much did it suck that he was going to have to tell Marinette who he was anyway? He didn't understand much of what had happened, but he did know that. She deserved to know.

"Ladybug should be here soon," he heard himself say, his voice coming out as a dead pan. "I need to leave before she gets here."

This was it. This was when he told her what he should have told her weeks before, when he'd first learned that she was in love with Chat Noir. He took a deep breath, and—

"Chat Noir."

He looked up. Marinette was clutching her hand to her heart.

"What did you just say?" he asked.

She swallowed visibly. "Chat Noir," she repeated. "I called you Chat Noir."

She knew.

She half-smiled at him. "You kiss like him."

Of course. That made perfect sense. And he'd totally broken her heart with the reveal somehow. He began to stand. "Marinette, I'm so—"

She held out her hand. "Wait." She pointed at the purple butterflies. "We need to take care of these."

He was confused. "I…I can't. Only Ladybug can capture the akumas, but if I transform, I can call her, and—"

"Tikki, spots on."

Adrien felt the air sweep up around them, saw Marinette spin, and watched her transform from the girl he loved to a superhero wearing a red suit with black spots.

He didn't understand. It _couldn't_ be. But she pulled out that magic yo-yo, opened it up, and caught one of the akumas, then the other, whispering "gotcha" before she put the yo-yo away.

He stayed frozen, crouched to the ground, not knowing how to face her while she stood there. Her. Ladybug. And also…Marinette. It was hard to believe, and then again, as he thought about it, it made so much sense. Why was Marinette always disappearing? Because she was Ladybug and she'd been busy defending Paris against akumatized victims. Why had she been so tired the last few months? Because she was Ladybug and she'd been doing it all alone. Why had she been the one to show up and save his ass after the first time he'd been akumatized? _Because she was Ladybug._

But all those things had happened because he'd cracked. He'd let his negative emotions get the best of him. He'd abandoned her.

He'd been a complete fool. And a jerk.

If his heart could have broken a second time, it would have.

"I'm so sorry, Adrien. Chat."

He looked up. She was looking at the ground like the world had collapsed and it was somehow her fault.

"You were right about everything. I should have told you who I was when you asked. Back after we defeated The Fan Girls. I wanted to." She cringed. "I probably would have, if I hadn't thought of…of Adrien. Right then."

He snorted. "I cause problems no matter who I am."

She leaned against that bolt of satin. "How? You knew you were in love with Ladybug. You always said you'd love whoever was under the mask. Now you're in love with Marinette." She laughed shortly. "You were right. But I didn't trust my gut instinct enough. Because I was in love with an Adrien I idealized, and when I started to fall for Chat—dorky, ridiculous Chat, who never once let me down, who was always there for me, who completely had my back—I rejected what I was feeling. I made a mistake. And it cost me everything."

Adrien's brain was turning in a new direction. "You…you think this was all your fault?"

She snorted this time. "Of course it was. If I'd been honest with myself, I would have seen the real you in Chat forever ago. And if I had trusted you the way you trusted me, you wouldn't have been akumatized. Then maybe you wouldn't have stopped wanting to be my partner." She paused and looked far, far away. "Maybe you would still be in love with Ladybug."

"What makes you think I'm not still in love with Ladybug?" he asked.

"You said you were in love with Marinette. And you're…you're Chat Noir. I know what you're like when you're in love." She rubbed her eyes. "You only have eyes for the one you love."

He stood up. "So is that what broke your heart? Thinking that Chat Noir didn't love Ladybug anymore?"

Marinette sniffed and rubbed her eyes again. "He's my partner, and I need him back, and without him I'm not even half as good at the miraculous business, and I hate every second of it. And I love him."

It was weird. All this time, Adrien had thought he was only capable of destruction, and he seemed to be destroying everything in his life, but just now, he felt like maybe there was something he didn't have to destroy. Maybe this one broken heart was something he could mend…

He picked up her hand. "Marinette, I always told you, it wasn't the mask I loved. It was the girl behind it. And like you said, I was right about that. When I got to know you—the real you—I couldn't help how I felt." He laced his fingers through hers. "Don't you see? It's not that I ever stopped loving Ladybug. I didn't. I just found the real girl behind the mask and fell in love with her."

There was a glimmer of hope in Ladybug's eyes. "So maybe you do still love Ladybug, then?"

He lowered his voice. "I could never stop loving you, Ladybug."

"Even…as Chat Noir?"

It had been a while since they'd been together as Chat Noir and Ladybug in any way that would have made either of them feel good. It occurred to him now that they probably both needed that again now. He smiled at her, hoping this could all be fixed. "Plagg, claws out."

They were still holding hands a moment later, and her eyes softening at him were very possibly the best thing Chat had ever seen. He reached up to brush a lock of hair away from her face so that he could see those bluebells better.

"I can't believe you're standing here with me after all that time," she said while he smoothed his hand across her cheek. "I didn't think you would ever want to stand this close to me again."

He wanted to stand a lot closer to her. He wanted his arm around her waist. He wanted to be kissing her again. He settled for leaning in to kiss her cheek. "I shouldn't have abandoned you, m'lady, but I never stopped loving you. Can you forgive me?"

She put her hand on his cheek. "I have been wanting to tell you this for so long now. I love you, Chat Noir. I hope you can forgive me for not seeing it earlier."

"Well, it was only because you were in love with that other guy, right?" he teased very lightly while his eyes drifted toward her lips. "What was his name?"

"Adrien," she said softly. "Adrien Agreste."

He decided there was no good reason to wait and leaned in to kiss those pretty lips again, just once this time, chastely, but he thought it was called for. "If you forgive me, I promise only to make bad jokes about that now and then." He kissed her again. "And only to remind you once every few weeks that if you'd let me tell you who I was years ago, we both could have had everything we wanted a lot earlier."

She put both hands on his shoulders. "Of course, I forgive you, Kitty. And I wish I hadn't been so stubborn about our identities. But…" She looked away shyly, only briefly, then looked back, lifted herself up on her toes, and initiated a kiss herself. "I'm not glad it happened this way, but I'm kind of glad I had the chance to fall in love with you as Chat Noir. You're…not exactly Adrien this way."

"Sure I am. I'm Adrien with freedom." He curled his tail around her legs and she laughed into another kiss.

"Freedom to be ri-dork-ulous," she said, but he didn't mind, because it seemed that all these little kisses had led them both to wanting a series of much longer kisses, and soon Chat was in some glorious realm of heaven, where cats and ladybugs were magically together, and no one needed oxygen or anything pointless like that. Here tails were meant for coaxing the girl you were kissing to come closer inch-by-inch, and when you purred in response to things getting rather passionate, she didn't push you away or act like you'd done something wrong.

Nope. She just sighed and made a little "ah" noise that made you think she was rather happy with cat bug heaven herself.

Also, somehow, when she murmured "spots off," and transformed back from a superhero girl to a civilian girl, it didn't take you out of that heaven. Actually, it only made things sweeter.

"It's the most adorable thing in the world that you love me as Chat even when you're Marinette," he murmured into her ear as he moved from her lips for a brief moment to kiss more delicate spots of skin.

"I'm Marinette all the time," she said. "I'm only Ladybug some of the time."

He considered that, then decided it was time for him to transform back, too. "Claws in," he said, and then cat bug heaven was Adrien and Marinette, and he decided that he would be cool with any combination of "them," as long as they were together. He didn't see any reason for the kissing to stop just because their costumes were gone.

"So does this mean we live happily ever after?" she asked somewhere around the time when he was starting to thinking that he would like to stay permanently in this little heaven they were creating, and it was nice that they were on the same page with that.

"Mmm hmm," he hummed into a kiss. "With two kids…a dog…and—"

"I meant happily ever after until we graduate," she said with a giggle.

"You don't want a hamster?" he murmured.

She laughed delightfully. "Maybe we should start with smaller goals. Like finding somewhere to go other than the dark fabric floor of your dad's office building?"

"Is it dark in here?" He hadn't noticed. And he liked that when she laughed it gave him the opportunity to find new places to kiss.

"Really dark," she told him. "I don't think we'll be able to see to get back to the elevators."

"Lights are on motion detectors," he said somewhere between her collarbone and that perfect hollow at the base of her neck. "We probably haven't set them off in a while."

"Then we should set them off again. Because we can't just stand here all night kissing."

"Oh…" He really hadn't been thinking, had he? "Sure. We should find…" Well, of course he hadn't. He was a little busy for thinking. This had been a while in the making. "…somewhere better to kiss all night long…"

But where would that be? The floor, after all, looked kind of hard, and Adrien didn't think his dad would be cool with them making use of any of his expensive fabric furniture of any kind.

"There's the office with you name on it," he suggested. "Or that lobby with the comfy couches."

She was giggling more than she was kissing now, and wait…was she actually trying to make him stop kissing? _Why?_

"That wasn't what I meant, Adrien."

Oh. Well then. "I know of a few dressing rooms with really plush carpet," he told her.

"Oh _mon dieu_ , are you…are you leaving marks on my neck?"

Yeah, he probably was. "Does it feel bad?"

"No, but—"

"Oh, good. Don't worry. You wear a jacket with a collar. No one will see."

"Adrien, stop leaving marks on my neck!"

"You want me to leave marks elsewhere, m'lady?"

"Chat!" She pulled away from him with what was probably a very great effort and the lights flickered back on, and he was pleased to see that her hair was pleasantly messed up and her cheeks flushed all pretty and her lips a little plumper than normal.

"Fine," he said, feeling very Chat indeed. "If you don't want to stay here, let's transform and go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower or something."

"Where I left your dad?" she said looking very scandalized, then very pale all at once. "Uh, I should probably go get him down."

Adrien cracked up. "You left my dad on the top of the Effiel Tower?"

"I was akumatized!"

"You are so cute when you're flustered."

"You are so…" she waved her hand up and down at him.

"Sexy?" he offered. "Persuasive?"

"Chat Noir all the time," she said, but she didn't say it like it was a bad thing. Actually, she was grinning at him.

"But you like that, right?" he said hopefully. "Because you love Chat even more than you love Adrien.

She rolled her eyes and then threw her arms around him all at once and kissed him again. "I think Chat might be the person you become when you feel like you can be truly yourself, Adrien. And I love all of you. Every part. But the truly you you is always the best."

"Um, excuse me," a little voice said from on top of a nearby clothing rack. "But if this is all fixed, do you think maybe you two could find us something to eat? We're starving."

"Plagg! You're ruining the reveal!" another little voice said.

"No way, sugar cube," Plagg said to the adorable pink kwami perched next to him. "This reveal was a smashing success." He flitted over to Adrien's ear. "But if you have some extra cheese, I'd appreciate that," he muttered. "It's been a while since me and Tikki spent any quality time together, if you know what I mean, and I could use some energy to handle that sweet little bug."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I currently have a lot of sympathy for the Zag folks. It found it very difficult to write a reveal that would live up to all the tension that went into these characters not being together for so long. I'm not sure I did justice to mine. Also, I watched Oblivion recently, and I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but let's just say it made me extremely nervous for Zag about how the actual reveal might go. They have a LOT to live up to.

As for this story...one more chapter and we'll call it the end. Thanks for fangirling out with me for so long. I hope you enjoyed the Chattiness of this chapter.


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